Finding Family
by MissSadieKane
Summary: Abused, tortured and sent 21 years into the future by his own mother, all Regulus can remember is flashbacks about his past. When he is adopted by the Grangers, he learns to live with  a family who cares for him. AU. Part one is now complete.
1. Prologue

A/N: some of the ages and birthdays in this story may be slightly different. I do not own Harry Potter (or the Kane Chronicles). Mrs Cooper is just a random muggle I made up. It is also slightly au because in this story Sirius does not go to Azkaban.

Prologue

28th July 1967

It was a hot summers day in muggle London and Mrs Cooper was doing her Saturday morning shopping. She was just finishing her shopping, and was walking out of the grocery store when something slammed into her, causing her to drop her bags.

"I'm awfully sorry Miss," said a young boy, "I didn't mean to hurt you." He began to help her. When everything was picked up, Mrs Cooper took a proper look at the boy. He looked about eight years old with black hair and sparkling grey eyes. Tugging at his shoulder was a smaller, skinnier, very anxious-looking boy, who otherwise looked exactly the same.

"Come on, Sirius, Mother will see us," whined the smaller boy, pulling harder. "We have to go now!"

"Sorry Mrs Muggle person, we have to go now," the older boy said hurriedly. The two boys continued running down the street.

"SIRIUS! REGULUS! COME BACK HERE NOW!" Mrs Cooper watched as a woman about her own age with black curly hair ran past her and caught up with the boys. She pinned the younger one against the shop wall and began shouting at him.

"How dare you talk to that muggle! She is nothing but filth! Do you _want_ to disgrace your entire family?"

"I didn't!" the boy whimpered.

"It was my fault. I made her shopping go all over the floor," said Sirius.

"Silencio!" The woman pointed a small wooden stick at the elder boy. "Now tell me why you decided to run off like that," she said to the smaller boy.

The little boy, who couldn't have been older than five or six whimpered but did not say anything.

"Tell me now!" shouted the woman holding the stick to the boy's throat. By now a small crowd was starting to gather around to watch. Mrs Cooper watched in horror as the woman muttered something that sounded like "Crucio" causing the small child to scream and his whole body to shake violently. She ran inside to call the police.

"Siri help! Make it stop! Help!" the child was screaming. The woman kept pointing the stick, which looked like a wand, at him.

"Mother! Please stop your hurting him." The woman didn't lower her wand, and both children continued to shout out each other's names.

After about ten minutes or maybe more, the woman finally stopped. She shouted something that Mrs Cooper couldn't quite make out. A jet of white, blinding light shot out of the end of the wand, and hit Regulus, who was by then lying on the ground shaking. When the light had gone, the boy was no longer there. He had completely disappeared!

The other boy, Sirius, began shouting at his mother, while she attempted to drag him away from the scene. Cries of "What have you done?" and "Where is here?" and "Mother, I hate you!" could be heard as the woman tried to pry the boy's hands away from the drain pipe on the corner that he was clinging desperately to.

While this had been going on, the Ministry of Magic had received a call from the muggle police concerning misuse of magic and child abuse. A team of Obliviators, Aurors and a healer, were sent onto the scene.

Mrs Cooper watched in amazement and horror as a large group of people in cloaks arrived, riding on broomsticks. After they had dismounted the brooms, they started to run towards the confused crowd of people. Some ran straight to the woman and stopped her from hurting the boy any further. Another started to comfort the little boy, who had started sobbing uncontrollably and was now rocking backwards and forwards and mumbling his brother's name.

The remaining people walked towards the staring crowd of people, their wands raised. One, a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, stood in front of Mrs Cooper.

"Obliviate," he said. Mrs Cooper felt dizzy for a moment and then looked around her. The crowd was beginning to disperse. She remembered there had been a street magic show on in the street. Mrs Cooper went home, and never thought about the two boys and their mother ever again.


	2. Part 1 Chapter 1: 1988

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, or places. I do, however own the plot, as I don't think anyone else has this plot, and the two police characters.

**Chapter One**

_1988_

When Regulus woke up it was night-time. He could tell because it was dark, and he was freezing cold. His whole body hurt all over and was shaking, more than it should be from the cold, but he didn't know why. He also didn't know why he was lying in a street, or why no one had taken him home when he fell asleep. What about his parents?

The thought suddenly occurred to him that he couldn't remember anything about who he was, or who his parents were. He vaguely remembered a boy a few years older than him calling him "Reggie" so he supposed that was his name.

Regulus turned around and noticed the shop behind him was boarded up. The shops to either side and on the opposite side of the road were too, with 'To Let' signs in the windows. He walked down the deserted street until he reached the main road, which was also deserted, and then walked until he was standing under a strange, yellow flashing light on a stick. He leaned against it, slid down into a sitting position and let the tears fall.

He didn't know how long he sat like that. He must have fallen asleep again at some point because when he next woke up it was daylight. He had woken to find a hand on his shoulder, belonging to a man who was asking him something.

"Are you alright? Are you lost?"

"No," Regulus sobbed, "Everything hurts. I want to go home."

"Do you have an address?"

"No, I woke up in the street. But I don't live there."

"What's your name?"

"I don't know. I think my name's Reggie, but I'm not sure."

"Well my name's Mr Granger," said the man. He looked down at the sobbing, shaking boy wondering what to do. He couldn't just leave him there. "I think I'll take you to the police station," he thought out loud. "They'll know what to do."

Regulus sat in the large chair with his knees hugged close up to his chest. Mr Granger was seated in the chair next to him with both of his feet firmly on the carpet. In front of them was a large, wooden desk covered with paperwork, and on the other side of the desk were a man and woman wearing police uniforms.

"What's your name?" asked the woman kindly.

"Reggie," he mumbled into his knees.

"How old are you?"

"I don't know."

"What are your parents' names?"

"I don't know/"

After asking several questions, to all of which the answer was "I don't know," the two police officers ceased their questioning, and went out of the room to discuss the situation.

"What's going to happen to me?" asked Regulus, looking up at Mr Granger with tear stained eyes.

"I don't know. They'll sort everything out; they always do."

"What if they don't?"

Just then, the two police officers re-entered the room. They explained that they thought it would be best for Regulus to go to the hospital for a while, to see if he had memory loss.

* * *

><p>One week later, Regulus was sitting up in the hospital bed reading a book about magic. It had turned out that he had had concussion and some kind of past trauma, which had resulted in the memory loss. The doctors had confirmed that his name was Regulus A, and then something beginning with B from his clothes label, but so far had been unable to contact his parents. No one had rung the police station either, to tell them that a child had gone missing.<p>

Mr Granger had so far visited every day. It turned out that the two of them got on really well. Mr Granger was an excellent joke teller. He and his wife were both dentists and they lived in a nice, expensive house with their daughter.

On some of the visits, Mr Granger had also brought along his daughter, who was called Hermione Granger. She was fairly shy and a bit older than Regulus, but she liked reading as much as Regulus did, and the two of them had already become friends in less than a week.

Today was one of the days that Hermione came with her Dad to the hospital.

"Hello Reggie," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not sure," Regulus shrugged. "I don't hurt anywhere anymore."

"That's good then. Daddy says the hospital will let you out soon, and you can go home with us. He says that you can come and live at our house until you know who your parents are."


	3. Part 1 Chapter 2: Sirius

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter books, characters or locations.

AN: Sorry if you have been following this story and have found the changes of scene difficult to follow. In the word document I had inserted page breaks but these didn't come out on the fanfiction. This story is AU, as Regulus does not go back to the past, Sirius does not go to Azkaban (I have arranged a more interesting breakout), and there is no mention in the books about Hermione having an adopted brother. If you are reviewing, please do not flame me about gender stereotyping – if there is any, it was unintentional.

Anyway, here's what happened to Sirius.

Chapter Two

Late July 1967

Sirius was very confused – the Aurors had taken him away from his mother, and left him in a white-walled room with the healer lady. The healer had told him that his mother was being 'questioned' and was being taken to a "hearing". Sirius didn't know what a hearing was, and the lady didn't look as if she was going to tell him anything. There was also the matter that his brother had just vanished off the face of the earth. He'd tried asking what was going on, but no one seemed to be able to give an answer.

It had taken little over half an hour for the healer to examine Sirius. Other than a few bruises, there was nothing wrong with him, except for the distress of witnessing the incident. After about two hours of sitting doing nothing, the door opened and a tall, intimidating-looking man with black hair and grey eyes entered the room.

"Good Afternoon," he said looking at the healer, his face remaining expressionless. "I'm here to pick up Sirius."

The man held out his hand to Sirius, who took it. He then proceeded to drag the poor boy through the deserted corridors of the ministry (because that is where Sirius had been taken), and into the atrium. The two flooed to Grimmauld Place.

As soon as they were out of public view, the man's face changes from expressionless to furious.

"Have you any idea what shame you have brought on this family? Your mother may go to Askaban because of what you two have done today!"

"She deserves to go. I hate her!"

"Don't you dare speak about your mother like that. You're a disgrace to the house of Black?"

"But sh-she blasted her wand at R-regulus. She k-killed him!" cried Sirius.

"She didn't kill him. She was just doing what was necessary for our family. Now go to your room."

Sirius ran upstairs and collapsed on the bed. He closed his eyes and finally let the tears he had been holding all day fall. Eventually he fell asleep.

His father followed him upstairs a few hours later. He hadn't been able to do anything to save his wife from the fate of Azkaban, but he had managed to pay enough money to the ministry to keep quiet. He couldn't afford for Sirius to tell anyone the true story, so he did the only thing he could think of.

He obliviated his own son.

...

The next morning Sirius woke up. He ran into his brother's room to jump on the bed and wake him up to, but stopped when he entered the room. His brother's room was empty. Where was he? Sirius ran downstairs to the dining room, to find his father sitting eating the breakfast Kreacher had prepared whilst reading the newspaper.

"Father, where is Regulus?" asked Sirius.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," said his Father, his grey eyes looking very sincere, "I have some very grave news to tell you."

"What happened Father?"

"Do you remember a few weeks ago, Regulus had that illness," said his father calmly.

"Yes father," said Sirius, remembering.

"Well, he has become ill again, and he and your mother are at St. Mungos hospital now. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but your mother and I didn't want to wake you up."

"Can we go and see him now?"

"Not at the moment, but we can later. When you've had your breakfast," he replied. He sighed inwardly. He had solved the problem for now, and it wouldn't take much more lying for Sirius to believe his brother was dead.

...

A/N: next chapter will be with Regulus and Hermione. Next few chapters will be the two of them growing up, a visit from Albus Dumledore, a trip to Diagon Ally and a surprise encounter with Neville's gran. Please review.


	4. Part 1 Chapter 3: The Grangers

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter books, characters or locations.

A/N This chapter is just to show how different the Granger household is to the Black's, and that life with the Grangers is better. This chapter contains a dream sequence, so the date is 1988, but the dream is from 1966.

Chapter 3

31st October 1988

It was now a few months after Regulus had gone to live with the Grangers. No one had called to report a missing child, so the family had adopted him as their own. It was now Halloween and Hermione Granger and Regulus were in the kitchen helping to make cakes and ghost-shaped biscuits for Halloween.

"Do you think witches and wizards are real, Reg?" asked Hermione, licking the spatula she was holding.

"Of course their real! Why would anyone think otherwise?"

"I don't know," giggled Hermione, "perhaps they don't think people should be able to do this..." With a wide grin, she lifted the spatula with her eyes so that it was floating in mid air. "I've never shown anyone that before. You won't tell anyone will you?"

"Course not," laughed Regulus, doing the same thing to the spoon lying on the kitchen cabinet next to him.

"Wow! You can do it too? I thought I was the only one!"

"Well not now you're not!" he said, making the spoon throw flour all over Hermione's brown, bushy hair.

"Whatever," giggled Hermione, flicking cake mixture in his face.

Just then, Hermione's mum entered the kitchen. She laughed at the children's antics, and then told them to go and wash themselves. After listening to the two of them splash water at each other in the bathroom, she went upstairs to help Hermione, who had managed to turn the flour in her hair into a horrible sticky mess.

...

7th November 1988

_A seven year old Sirius and five-year-old Regulus were at Portobello Road Market, standing over a toy stall. Sirius was talking to a muggle girl, while Regulus happily licked a strawberry ice cream._

"_Hi. I'm Sarah, what's your name," said the little girl. She was about six years old with blond hair and wide blue eyes._

"_Sirius, and that's Reggie, but he's really shy so don't talk to him. How old are you?"_

"_Six."_

"_I'm seven." _

_Throughout the conversation, Regulus was tapping his brother on the shoulder trying to get his attention. His face showed an increasingly worried look. Sirius ignored him and continued talking._

"_So where are you from?" the girl asked._

"_Number 12 Grimmauld Place."_

"_That's near me. How come I've never seen you around before?"_

"_My mother and father don't like it when I go out on my own, and they don't like it when I talk to muggles."_

"_Muggles?"_

"_It means people who can't do magic."_

"_Oh. Can you do magic then?"_

"_No, but I'm learn-"_

_Suddenly Sirius and his brother were wrenched away from the market place and into a narrow street. Their father had found them. The two boys were taken home by side-along apparition. _

_As soon as they were within the secrecy of the four walls of their house, their father turned on them. First he shouted at Sirius for talking to "muggle filth" and also from telling the muggles about the existence of magic. He then proceeded to whip Sirius, until the boy fell to the ground. Little Regulus screamed at his father to stop, but he just carried on hurting Sirius. _

_..._

Six-year-old Regulus woke up from a dream about his past, to feel Hermione shaking him.

"Reggie, wake up," she said. When she saw that he was crying, she tried to hush him by telling him it was just a dream and put her arm around him. "Who's Siri," she asked, when he had relaxed.

"My brother. My father was hurting him, and I asked him to stop but he didn't and he just carried on hitting him and..."

"Sshh, it's alright," said Hermione, comforting him.

Hermione stayed with him until he fell asleep and then went back to her own room.

...

A/N Next chapter Hermione gets her Hogwarts letter, and there is a visit from Albus Dumbledore. Please review. PS, if you do, please can you say why you read the story, i.e. if you clicked on it because it was on the first page, searched key words, or put in the particular characters.


	5. Part 1 Chapter 4: Dumbledore

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, locations or spells. I do own Sarah the muggle girl and Mrs Cooper, but they are not necessary to the plot.

Chapter Four

July 1991

Three years later, Regulus was now an accepted member of the Granger household, and Hermione's best friend. The two of them were currently sitting at the back room table with their homework. Hermione was writing an extra project for her teacher on the industrial revolution, and Regulus was doing some creative writing for his teacher. He was just finished writing his last sentence when the doorbell rang.

The two children raced each other to the hallway to open the door, but Mrs Granger, who had shuffled slowly from the kitchen, had got there first. She opened the door to reveal a very old man with white hair and a long white period. Hermione thought he looked so old that he could have witnessed firsthand the events in her project. Regulus thought that he looked like a wizard but didn't say so because he thought it would be rude to do so.

"Hello, my name is Albus Dumbledore," said the old man. He then proceeded to walk into the kitchen without anyone telling him to do so. Mrs Granger and the two children followed him, and all four seated themselves at the breakfast table.

"I'm here to talk to you about Miss Hermione Granger," he said to Mrs Granger. "You may or may not have witnessed strange goings on around your daughter. Odd happenings, floating objects... that sort of thing.

"Well I do remember one time, she appeared to by floating cutlery, and then another time when that boy was being nasty to her and the playground equipment he was standing on collapsed. I didn't think anything of it at the time though. Is it bad?"

"I thought that the incident at the park was you," whispered Hermione to Regulus. The Dumbledore man didn't seem to notice they had spoken and so carried on talking to their mother.

"Oh no, of course not," he said. "But Hermione needs to learn how to keep those sorts of outbursts under control. I would like to offer her a place at my school for young witches and wizards."

"Witches and wizards?"

"Yes. Hermione is a witch. I am a wizard." He then handed Hermione a letter. Hermione read it (Regulus reading it over her shoulder) and then passed it to her mother, who was sitting opposite them. The letter said:

**HOGWARTS SHCOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

_**Dear Miss Granger**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**_

_**Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall,**_

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

"Can I go to Hogwarts too?" asked Regulus. "I can do magic just as well as Hermione can!"

"No, you have to be eleven years old to start Hogwarts, but you can come in a few years time."

"But you don't know that I'm not eleven. You don't know when I was born. I might just be a very small eleven-year-old," argued Regulus.

"There's a potion that I can brew that will tell me your exact age and date of birth. Would you like to take it?"

"Yes," said Regulus.

...

A few days later, Professor Albus Dumbledore came back with the potion. Mrs Granger was still shocked that Hermione was a witch, but she had always known there was something special about her daughter.

Regulus took the potion, which made his date of birth and age appear in writing above his head.

The writing said:

Age: 8 years, 11 months

Date of Birth: 5th August 1961

Since the age was almost exactly the age they thought he was (the Granger family had used the day they found him as his actual birthday, so he was about a week younger that they originally thought), Dumbledore concluded that either the potion had malfunctioned, or that Regulus had taken an aging potion or time travelled. Dumbledore assumed that the potion had most likely just given him the wrong year, and thought nothing more of it for several years.

...

A/N Sorry these chapters are so short. Next Chapter is Diagon Alley. Please review.


	6. Part 1 Chapter 5: Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters, locations or themes in the Harry Potter series. I also do not own Sadie Kane - she belongs to Rick Riordan.

A/N For "The Lost One" I'm sorry the previous chapters are quite short, it's because I've been writing them during lunch break. Tell me whether you prefer longer chapters or quicker updates. Anyway, in this chapter, Hermione and Regulus go to buy Hermione's wand, and they meet a few of the other characters.

Chapter Five

31st July 1991

The Grangers had followed the directions given to them by Dumbledore to get to the Leaky Cauldron. Being unable to see it, they had had to drop their children off outside it and let them go in by themselves. It was the first time they had let Hermione and Regulus go anywhere other than school or the corner shop by themselves, so they were slightly anxious about the whole ordeal.

Regulus held tightly onto Hermione's hand as she led him into the building. The two of them were both nervous about being on their own and it didn't help that the place was full of older witches and wizards sitting round tables, drinking and talking like they had known each other for years – which they probably had.

Someone must have noticed their lost expressions, because a woman came up to then, and told them how to get into Diagon Alley, and how to exchange their muggle money for wizarding money, After they had been to Gringotts bank and had hold of some money, they headed to Ollivander's wand store.

"Hello, I'm Mr Ollivander," said an oldish man, behind the counter. "Are you looking to buy a wand?"

"She is," said Regulus, pointing at Hermione, who was being a bit on the shy side.

"Ah yes," said Ollivander, turning to face Hermione. "Just wait a minute, while I get a wand for you to try." He walked to the back of the room and climbed a ladder, to get down a long, narrow box. He opened it to reveal a long, shiny, brown stick, and handed the 'stick' to Hermione.

Hermione held the wand, unsure of what she should do with it.

"Well don't just stand there! Wave it around! The wand chooses the wizard you know."

Hermione flicked the wand. This caused an explosion, breaking all the glass in the shop window.

"No, no, no. That is not right for you. Not right at all," said Ollivander after a quick _reparo_. He went to the shelves again and picked out another wand, this one with a unicorn hair core, and elder wood. Unfortunately, this one caused Hermione to set the counter-top on fire.

After about the fifth try, Hermione found a wand that worked It was 10¾" vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core.

The next shop they visited was 'Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions', to get Hermione her Hogwarts school robes. When they entered the shop, a round-faced boy of about Hermione's age was already being fitted. He was holding something small and brown, which, after seeing the open door, jumped out of his hand onto Hermione's shoulder.

"Trevor!" shouted the boy, trying to run over to Hermione, but couldn't because the woman fitting him was holding his robes.

"Keep still Neville," said the woman irritably. Meanwhile Hermione, who didn't particularly like slimy things, passed the toad to Regulus. He pulled a face at her, but held onto Trevor anyway, while Hermione and Neville were fitted.

"Are you two first years too?" asked Neville.

"I am," said Hermione, "but Reg won't be able to go for another two years."

"Oh," said Neville. "Do you know what house you want to be in?"

"I don't know much about them yet – I'm muggle born. Dumbledore mentioned them when he came to talk to us about Hogwarts and my brother and I agreed that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sound like the best. What do you think?" Hermione knew she was rambling, but she was nervous and it all just came out without her really thinking about it.

"I dunno. My parents were in Gryffindor, so I hope I'll go there too."

All too soon, the fitting of robes was completed.. Hermione, Regulus and Neville filed out of the shop onto the street where Neville's gran was waiting for him.

On seeing Regulus, the old woman did a double take, mistaking him for somebody else. She accused him of being the spawn of the devil who tortured her poor son to insanity, which of course neither Regulus nor Hermione knew anything about.

"I don't know what you mean," Regulus said in reply to Mrs Longbottom.

"Are related to Bellatrix Lestrange? You certainly look a lot like her!"

Regulus thought for a moment. He recognised the name, but he thought he remembered it belonging to a girl a little older than Hermione was. He knew because he had had nightmares involving her, but they weren't very bad nightmares. The girl was certainly a bully, but he couldn't imagine her doing what Mrs Longbottom was saying she had done. He must have got the wrong Bellatrix.

"I don't think so," he said eventually. "My parents name began with a B."

"Oh well, sorry for that outburst. You really do look like her you know." Mrs Longbottom walked away to go and buy cauldrons, while Hermione and Regulus went to buy books.

The two of them walked down Diagon Alley in the direction of 'Flourish and Blotts', staring in wonder at all the window displays and people in strange clothing, as well as an extremely tall man with a beard carrying a cage with a white owl in it. One particular window display was brought to Regulus' attention. A group of other boys were crowded the window so that at first it was difficult to see what all the fuss was about.

As they got closer, they could see that there was a broomstick in the window. It was called a Nimbus 2000.

"Can we get one of those, Mione?"

"No. It's too expensive, and first years aren't allowed broomsticks anyway," said Hermione.

"But we could keep it at home," whined Regulus.

"Yes, and then what would all the neighbours think when we were flying outside their windows?"

"Oh yeah. I didn't think of that."

"Silly."

When they finally arrived at the book shop, and had bought all the book on Hermione's list, Hermione added a few extra books to the pile, including 'Quiditch Through the Ages' to stop Regulus from whining. They went to buy cauldrons, ingredients and all of the other things Hermione needed for Hogwarts. When they had finished they went to sit outside an ice-cream shop with two enormous ice cream Sundaes.

They had just settled down, when a blonde boy came up to the table and asked them to move out of the way. He wasn't very polite about it.

"Shove off mudbloods this is my spot," he said. Then to Regulus, he added, "Do I know you?"

Hermione and Regulus didn't know the meaning of the term "mudblood" but it didn't sound very nice. Regulus thought he remembered a boy similar to this that he used to know, but he wasn't sure if it was the same one.

…..

_Flashback 1966_

_Regulus hated it when his cousins came round. He hated it even more when they brought_ _their friends over – Bella's friends were usually awful, the Lestrange brothers in particular seemed to hate each him the most._

_So when Cissy brought with her a blonde haired boy she'd met at Hogwarts, Regulus was not happy. Sirius had been sent to his room for being naughty, so he was forced to play hide and seek with them._

_The Black family home was quite large, so there were lots of places to hide. Regulus was between some paintings in the attic. He could here Cissy calling, and footsteps running up the stairs. The footfalls did not belong to Cissy – she had lighter, quicker footsteps. _

_They belonged to Cissy's friend Lucius Malfoy, a boy she had met at Hogwarts. He entered the attic and looked around for a good hiding place. He saw where Regulus was and thought that that was probably the best one, so he grabbed Regulus and shoved him into a big, pine wardrobe that was standing in the corner and locked the door._

_It was dark in the wardrobe, but light enough to see. Regulus turned around and screamed. There was a body in there. It was pale and bloody and looked like it should be dead, but it was standing staring him. It looked like it was one of those inferi things that he had heard his Father talking about, but it looked like Sirius, and Regulus knew that Sirius wasn't dead. Something wasn't right._

_Regulus carried on screaming until he heard Cissy coming up the stairs. It sounded as if she had grabbed Lucius and was questioning him._

"_Lucius, where's Reggie? What have you done?"_

"_There," said Lucius. He was probably pointing but Regulus couldn't see that..  
><em>

"_But that's the cupboard with the boggart in it. The poor boy will be terrified."_

_Lucius muttered something that sounded like "good" while Cissy unlocked the door and let out Regulus, who ran out into her arms and started to sob about 'inferi' and 'dead Sirius'. _

…

1991 again

"I think I know you. Is your name Lucius?"

"No, you idiot, my names Draco. Lucius is my father," the boy sneered.

"Um, well you look like him. You also look a bit like Cissy."

"My mother is called Narcissa, which Cissy might be short for."

That made no sense to Regulus, who remembered Cissy and Lucius to be eleven-years-old only three and a half years ago. It wasn't possible for them to have a child that age, so Regulus assumed it was all a big coincidence.

…..

After a really weird day, Hermione and Regulus walked out of Diagon Alley and into muggle London. They walked to the place where their parents said to meet them, and climbed into the family car.

…..

A/N So that's the end of the chapter. I tried to make it slightly longer this time. I hope you like it. Please review, and again tell me how you came across this story.

P.S. Did you spot Hagrid?


	7. Part 1 Chapter 6: Hogwarts

Disclaimer: Last Time I checked, I did not own the Harry Potter books.

A/N Most people seem to be reading this because they see it at the top of the page. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I may have made a mathematical error in the previous chapter. I think it was actually three and a half years since Regulus had last seen Narcissa, so I went back to change it.

Chapter Six

1st September 1991

"Hermione, are you nearly done," called Mrs Granger, from the bottom of the stairs.

"Almost done Mum."

Hermione was just finishing packing her trunk for Hogwarts. She had already packed everything she needed, and was trying to fit just a few thick books in for light reading. She had tried to pack her brother in as well, but she could hardly fit anything else in at all that way, so she had decided against that idea. The suitcase was still very overfilled, and Hermione was having trouble closing it.

"Can you sit on top of it, while I do the zip up?" she said to Regulus, who was sitting on the bed with a sketchbook drawing wizards on broomsticks.

"Yeah, sure," he said. He then did what Hermione had asked. With great effort on both parts, they managed to do up the suitcase without having to empty any more of its contents onto the floor. The two of them carried the suitcase downstairs and placed it in the hallway. Mr Granger carried it out to the car, because it was very heavy to lift.

"Are you going to write to me?" Regulus asked on the way to the station.

"Every day."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise."

When they arrived at the station, Hermione looked for the platform. There was a platform nine and a platform ten, but she couldn't see a platform nine and three quarters.

She watched as a family with five red-haired children pushed their trolleys through the barrier between the platforms, followed by a boy her own age with black hair, glasses and a white snowy owl. It was the same owl she had seen the giant man carrying in Diagon Alley.

She said goodbye to her parents and Regulus, who was going home with them, and followed them onto the platform. Once on the train, she looked for a compartment and found one with Neville and Trevor, who she had met previously in Diagon Alley. She sat down opposite Neville and watched the horrible toad hop around the compartment.

…..

Early the next morning, Regulus woke early to hear a tapping at his window. It was a tawny owl – one of the Hogwarts school owls. He opened the window to let it in, and untied the letter attached to its leg. The letter said:

_Dear Regulus,_

_I said I would write to you every day, so here is your first letter of the year. I am now safely at Hogwarts. On the train, I shared a compartment with Neville and his toad. Neville is good to talk to, but the toad is really annoying. Half way along the journey Trevor ran away through the opened compartment door, and Neville and I had to go door to door through all the compartments to look for him. Neville eventually found him in the entrance hall when we arrived at train stops at Hogsmeade, a village near Hogwarts. The older years travel to Hogwarts in horseless carriages – "Hogwarts: A History" says they are pulled by thestrals but you can only see them if you have seen someone die, which I never have. Us first years were shown to Hogwarts by Hagrid, who is twice as tall as Dad, with long, dark bushy hair and a beard to went by boat over the lake, which was really fun. There is a giant squid in the lake, but it is supposed to be friendly and didn't hurt any one. The castle itself is amazing. I can't describe what its like to first see it; you'll have to wait till your eleven when you go to Hogwarts. The great hall is enchanted just like it says in "Hogwarts: A History", and there are real ghosts too._

_I was sorted into Gryffindor. The hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw at first but then decided I would make better friends in Gryffindor. I hope it's right on that. The Gryffindor ghost is really interesting. His real name is Sir Nicholas, but every one calls him nearly headless Nick. I saw why – he pulled his ear and his whole head swung sideways like it was on a door hinge. It was disgusting._

_Anyway, tomorrow we get our schedules and start lessons. I can't wait to learn spells._

_Love Hermione._

Regulus read the letter and smiled. He was glad Hermione was happy and learning magic – something he had always wanted to do. He was also happy that Hermione was in Gryffindor, which sounded like the best house. He grabbed a piece of paper and began to write back.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I'm glad you like Hogwarts. I haven't really done much since you left. I have finished reading the Quidditch book, so is it Ok if I read some of the other magic books you bought and haven't taken with you. I won't try any spells because I haven't got a wand yet._

_Who else is in your house? Is Neville there? Have you met Harry Potter yet? It says in one of your books that he is about your age. _

_Also, can you tell me all about your lessons when you have them?_

_Love from Reggie._

_xxx_

Regulus put the pen down, and put it in an envelope with Hermione's name on it. He attached the letter to the owl's leg and it off to Hermione.

…

_A/N Hope you like it. Tell me what you think. I probably won't go too much into detail for Hermione's first and second years, but just write down key happenings. Also tell me what you think of introducing a son of Sirius Black in Regulus' year. Should I name him after James, or give him an original Black star name? I have created a poll on this._


	8. Part 1 Chapter 7: Making Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter plots, characters, locations or spells.

Chapter Seven: Making Friends

October 1991

_Dear Regulus,_

_I really love the lessons at Hogwarts. I don't seem to have much problems doing the spells though, so I've earned loads of House points for Gryffindor. Some of the other people in my class have problems with the spells, and some of them hate me because I can do it. I don't think that's fair._

_Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley are in Gryffindor in my year. Their already best friends with each other, and I over heard Ron talking about how I was a stuck up show off. They were also doing impressions of me and everyone was laughing. I wish they wouldn't – I can't help wanting to learn magic, and I want to make friends here._

_You wanted to know who else there is in Gryffindor. There is Neville, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. In other years there are all of Ron's older brothers, except the two that have left (I overheard Ron talking about them)._

_Write to me soon, love Hermione._

Regulus read Hermione's letter. Upset that Hermione wasn't making friends, he wrote a sympathetic note back, and then gave her some advice not to brag about being able to do spells and also not to be too bossy – he had known her for years and knew she could be very bossy if she wanted to. He then started writing a different letter, trying to make it as formal as possible.

…..

The next day at breakfast, Hermione sat away from the others in her year. She started a conversation with Percy Weasley, who seemed to like lessons as much as she did. On the other side of the table, Ron and Harry sat together talking about their families.

"So if you don't like it at the Dursley's and you have a godfather who loves you with a big house of his own, why don't you move in with him?" Ron asked Harry.

"I'm not sure. It's complicated. For some reason Dumbledore thinks it is safer for me to live with the Dursleys."

"But they hate you," said Ron, "and they didn't tell you about your parents. How are you safer with muggles anyway?"

"I don't know – nobody will tell me. I think it's like telling me I was a wizard. Dumbledore has told Sirius and Remus that they're not allowed to tell me anything, because apparently it's safer that way."

"Makes no sense whatsoever," said Ron.

"I know," agreed Harry.

Just then, the owls started coming in through the Hogwarts windows. One landed next to Hermione, and she untied a letter from its leg. The same owl then flew towards Harry and Ron.

Ron took the letter that was addressed to them, and the two of them read the letter together.

_Dear Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter_

"It looks a bit like Sirius's writing, but more childlike," Harry said.

_Yesterday I received a letter from Hermione Granger, a girl in your class. I don't know if you aware of this, but she is muggle born so magic is new to her._

"Yeah, we did notice that," said Ron.

_When she received her Hogwarts letter, she was very excited. She wanted to know everything about magic, and she was also worried that everyone would be ahead of her, so she read everything she could about magic before she came here._

_Hermione told me over several letters how she has been able to perform magic that other people who are pure-blood have not been able to perform straight away. She didn't say, but I have known her for over three years and I know that she probably boasted about it in front of you to improve her self-esteem._

"Well she definitely did that," said Harry.

_But yesterday, she told me that people have been talking about her behind her back, namely you two, and saying not-very-nice things about her. Just because you are now on the Quidditch team Harry – she wrote to tell me about that too – doesn't mean you are better than every one else and have the right to be mean to her. And Ron, doing impressions of people is never nice; it is the sort of behaviour I would expect from people like Malfoy._

_I know Hermione can be very bossy, but once you get to know her she is a really good friend. I want you to be nice to her, so she can be happy here._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Regulus A. Granger._

"Who's that?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's her brother or something."

…..

1st November 1991

Regulus woke up to hear the Hogwarts owl tapping at his window – it did it every day, but he still never remembered to keep it open. Since he had written to Harry and Ron, Hermione had not had much progress making friends. They were not outright mean to her, but she still felt ignored, and unappreciated.

He untied the letter and started to read.

_Dear Regulus,_

_Yesterday was Halloween, and we were all supposed to have a feast in the Great Hall. I didn't go though._

_In charms class, I had performed Wingardium Leviosa correctly. It's a charm to make something float in mid air. I was sitting by Ron and he wouldn't pronounce it right. I was trying to help him, but he couldn't do it. He wasn't as bad as Seamus though – he blew up the feather in his face._

_Anyway, after the lesson, Ron was really annoyed with me, and was talking rudely about me. I got upset and ran into the loo._

_The next thing I know, this troll comes in and starts destroying everything. Harry and Ron rush in and they save me from the troll, by using Wingardium Leviosa with its own club. They won us some points, but I lost some with my cover story._

_We are now best friends with each other._

_See you at Christmas, _

_Love Hermione, xxx._

…..

A/N Hope you like this chapter. I am not planning on having a RB/HG romantic pairing in this story. Please review, or look at the poll on my profile page. It's about Sirius's child - any guesses who the mother is? I also have another story, but you may not have seen it because it's very short and is also a crossover with Narnia.


	9. Part 1 Chapter 8: Nicolas Flamel

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the Harry Potter series. I am also not writing this story for profit. This story contains direct quotes from Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. I did not write them. All quotes are in italics.

Chapter Eight: Nicolas Flamel

December 1991

Regulus stood waiting at platform nine and three quarters. He was excited because Hermione was coming home for the Christmas holidays. Over the term, she had kept to her promise and written to him everyday – he knew that Hermione and her new best friends (apart from him of course) were trying to solve a mystery.

According to the letters, the third floor corridor of Hogwarts was out of bounds. On a nighttime excursion that Hermione had had with the boys before they were friends, they had discovered that on the corridor there was a three-headed dog. The dog was guarding a trap door; containing a package Harry had seen Hagrid take from Gringotts. The thing in the package belonged to a guy named Nicolas Flamel, who the trio had been trying to find out about.

This holiday Hermione would be coming back on her own: Ron and Harry were both staying at Hogwarts to witness the 'amazing decorations' and Christmas tree that Hogwarts had at Christmas time.

All too soon, the Hogwarts express pulled into the station. Crowds of children clambered off the train – there were so many people and so much steam that it was difficult for Regulus to spot Hermione. Luckily Hermione spotted him first.

Regulus almost fell over backwards as the flying mass that was Hermione rammed into him, and wrapped its arms around him. He hugged his sister back.

"I've missed you so much," said Hermione.

"Me too."

…..

Back in Hermione's bedroom, Regulus and Hermione were unpacking all her stuff. Amongst it all, was a very thick book that Hermione had taken out of the Library.

"What's that about Hermione?" asked Regulus, picking it up and flicking through the pages.

"Oh that," said Hermione. "I took that out for a bit of light reading."

"_Light reading?_ I know you like books Hermione, I do too, but this is huge. It's got… five thousand, four hundred and fifty seven pages altogether. That's bigger than all of the 'Lord of the Rings' books put together!" laughed Regulus.

"Oh well, it looked interesting," giggled Hermione.

It didn't take long to unpack everything. Hermione had neatly put all of her dirty washing in a plastic bag, so all she had to do was empty it all out into the washing bin. They decided to leave most of the other stuff in there, and take it out when they needed it.

When they had finished, they shoved the suitcase into the corner of the room. Hermione picked up the enormous book and settled down on the bed, the book at the pillow end.

"Choose a book, and come sit over here," said Hermione.

Regulus followed Hermione's instructions, picking up a book on wizards of the twentieth century.

…..

At half six on Christmas morning, Regulus ran into Hermione's room, and jumped on the bed to wake her up. The two of them then grabbed their stockings, went into their parents' room and sat cross-legged on the end of the bed.

"Good morning children," groaned Mrs Granger, rolling over and going back to sleep. Regulus giggled.

"WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" shouted Hermione. The two children laughed as their parents suddenly sat bolt upright, their eyes wide open in shock.

"Couldn't you two wait until it's a decent hour, like eight 'o' clock or something," sighed Mr Granger, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"No," said Hermione, "As long as we have stockings, we will always wake you up at six thirty on Christmas morning. Anyway, if we get up earlier that makes Christmas longer – it's perfectly logical."

"Oh well, let's see what Santa got you then," said Mrs Granger, putting a pillow upright behind her, so that she could be more comfortable.

The children started to open the stocking presents. The presents were mainly little things like sweets, 'bubble bath' and miniature toys. They knew they would get the proper presents later.

Mrs Granger made hot chocolate for the children, while Mr Granger cooked them breakfast. They were having a big, cooked breakfast of toast, sausages, egg and beans because they were going to have a late Christmas dinner at Granny and Grandpa's house.

After they had eaten, the family of four went into the backroom, to open the presents under the tree. They opened the presents from under the tree – these contained lots of books for Hermione and Regulus, DVDs, and a science kit for Regulus. There were also books and sweets for their mother and father.

However, Regulus thought that the best present was the one from Hermione. It was a box of wizarding sweets: Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Fogs, Liquorice Wands, and Cauldron Cakes.

"Are these chocolate frogs real?" asked Regulus, reading the label.

"No silly, it's just a charm to make them hop, their not really alive or anything. Open them and try one," Hermione said. Regulus did so.

"Look, it comes with a card!" cried Regulus. He was obviously more interested in the card than the frog, which was now hopping around the room. Mr Granger caught the frog before it did any damage to anything. With a silent nod from Regulus, he took this as permission to eat it.

"Who is it?" asked Hermione.

"Albus Dumbledore," Regulus replied. Hermione looked at him, asking him to continue. Regulus read out the writing on the back of the card:

_"Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Albus Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."_

"Hey Hermione, isn't that the guy you've been researching about?" asked Mr Granger.

"Yeah, it is. I've got an idea, stay right there!"

The family waited as Hermione ran upstairs to her room. They heard her rummaging about, and then her footsteps running down the staircase. She ran into the room carrying the enormous book, and plopped on the sofa next to her brother. She started flicking hurriedly through the book.

"I thought so," she said at last. "_Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's stone!_"

"The Philosopher's stone? I thought that was just a legend," said her mother.

"Yes dear, but we thought about witchcraft and magic too, and now look at our daughter," said Mr Granger.

"_The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._

'_There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover. Mr Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight)."_

"So is that what Fluffy's guarding then – the philosopher's stone?"

"I presume so. I need to write to Harry and Ron about it later though."

…..

A/N Wow! Another chapter finished. This story has got more hits in one week than my old website every got in a year. Anyway, I have changed the events in the book slightly, but this shouldn't make much difference to the plot. I just thought it would add a bit of bonding and character building, as well as Hermione's relationship with her parents.

Please tell me what you think. The poll is still up, but not many people have been on it yet. To those of you that have asked, I wanted Sirius to have a son so that people could confuse him with Regulus, like having a clone of him.


	10. Part 1 Chapter 9: A Baby Dragon

Disclaimer: I am not the official author of the Harry Potter Series, nor am I writing this story for profit. I think everyone on this website knows this anyway though.

Chapter Nine: A Baby Dragon.

January 1992

_Dear Regulus,_

_Harry and Ron were really excited when I told them about the Philosopher's Stone. Harry also had the same chocolate frog card and made a similar connection, but he didn't have the book about alchemy. They think that Professor Snape, that horrid potions teacher I was telling you about, is trying to steal the stone._

_While I was gone, Harry received a really cool present from an anonymous person. It's an invisibility cloak. Ron says they're really rare, but the best thing about it is that Harry, Ron and I can sneak around the castle at night without getting caught._

_I can't believe I just wrote that. Those two must be a really bad influence on me, if they have me excited about rule breaking._

_Unfortunately, though you can't be seen with an invisibility cloak, people can still hear and feel you. In the holiday, Harry used it to go to the restricted section of the library at night. He opened this book and it started screaming at him. The caretaker heard him so he had to run away._

_It was really funny the way Harry told the story. On the way back Harry found a mirror called 'The Mirror of Erised', which showed him his hearts desire. Harry saw himself with his parents, godparents, and grandparents, whereas Ron saw himself with his family as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain. Unfortunately, the mirror has been moved so I will probably never know what I would have seen – probably me as head girl with loads of 'Outstandings' at NEWT level or something._

_What do you think you would have seen in the mirror?_

_Please write back soon,_

_Lots of Love,_

_Hermione, xxx_

Regulus read and reread the letter from Hermione, then folded it and put it in the draw with the others. The draw was quite full now, as it contained every single letter Hermione had written him. A lot seemed to have happened while Hermione had been away from Hogwarts, including this strange mirror. He wondered how on earth it worked – magic, he supposed.

He picked up a pen and wrote back to her…

_Dear Hermione,_

_You've only been gone a day, and you have so much to tell me. Nothing much happened at my school today. We did art this afternoon, and the teacher really liked my drawing. It was supposed to be of our dream come true, so I drew you in your Hogwarts uniform and me on a broomstick, because that really is a dream come true and part of it has already happened._

_However, I don't think that would be what I would see in the mirror. I think it would be me and you and my brother altogether and happy in your bedroom. I think my cousin Cissy who I remember a bit about would be there too. I remember her being really nice – well she is usually kind or saving me in all the dreams and flashback type things I've ever had. _

_Tell me if anything else interesting happen at Hogwarts._

_Love Regulus, xxx_

P.S. I miss you.

Regulus attached his reply to the owl's leg, and watched as it spread its wings and flew to Hogwarts.

…..

He continued to receive daily letters from Hermione, but it wasn't until a few weeks later that anything interesting happened.

_Dear Regulus_, the letter said.

_You told me to tell you if anything really interesting happened. Well it has. Do you remember that man I told you about called Hagrid? Well he bought himself an egg and it's hatched. What's more, it's a baby dragon, and Hagrid has named him Norbert._

_I don't know why, but Hagrid seems to like dangerous pets. That three-headed dog was also one of his pets. He named it 'Fluffy'. FLUFFY? That's a name more suited to a rabbit or a hamster, not a monster. I hope that dragon doesn't grow into a huge, fire-breathing monster; I'd hate to go round to Hagrid's hut and have to try and avoid getting killed every time I see him._

_I don't know what we're going to do about it. The dragon has already hurt Ron's and it's only a baby. Also it is illegal to keep dragons as pets, and I don't want Hagrid to get in trouble. What should I do?_

_Love Hermione, xxx._

…..

_Dear Hermione,_

_I think a dragon is a really cool pet, but if it is illegal and hurting people, you need to get rid of it. The reason they are illegal to have as pets will either be for safety or because they are wild animals, so the best thing to do is to release it into its natural habitat._

_You said before that one of Ron's older brothers works with dragons. You should write to him for advice._

_Love Regulus._

…..

Hermione then wrote back to say that Ron's brother Charlie had replied to them, and would collect the dragon. She, and Harry would used Harry's cloak to take the dragon to the top of the tallest tower at midnight.

…..

A/N I know this is quite short, but I was trying to do a quick update. Please review my story. The poll is still up and your views are all appreciated.


	11. Part 1 Chapter 10: Not Dead?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series and never will, unless I get super rich and buy it off the author or something.

A/N: This chapter you should find out more about Sirius, and his family and what happened in the years between Sirius being obliviated and the present. I know this is not the correct death date, but this story is AU, and not in cannon with the books.

Chapter Ten: Not Dead?

_February 1992_

Sirius black was in a library. However, this was not what Remus thought was odd when he walked in on Sirius. It was the fact that he had stumbled across a new Sirius Black that was surrounded by 'History of Magic' books.

"I thought you hated History of Magic," said Remus, eyeing the 'Most Mysterious Cases of Time Travel in The Fourteenth Century' book that Sirius was reading.

"No, I don't. I just hated it at Hogwarts because Professor Binns was so dreary."

Remus noticed that Sirius looked a little upset about something. He supposed this was normal, considering that Sirius's father, Orion Black, had died only a few days ago. He knew Sirius had never got along well with his father – actually that was an understatement – the two of them had always fought with each other whenever they were in the same room as one another. Sirius had also told him that before he went to Hogwarts, his father would beat him whenever he even mentioned the word 'muggle'.

Remus also knew that when his own father had died, he had been very grief stricken indeed and had not wanted to talk about it to any one for a few weeks afterwards. He therefore respected Sirius's privacy and did not ask him if that was what was bothering him.

"So why exactly are you looking at History of magic books, Sirius," he asked. There were at least ten books on what Remus suspected was the 'read' pile, and another thirty or so on the 'books I am going to read later if I get the chance' pile.

"Well, It's a bit of a long story actually."

"I've got time," Remus said.

"Ok then," said Sirius and then began to recount the story.

…..

_A Week Previously_

Sirius woke up groggily and got dressed, putting on the sort of clothing his old family would have called respectable, instead of his usual muggle jeans and black T-shirt look he had recently taken up wearing. He looked in the mirror and grimaced – he looked ridiculous. Still, he thought, his father wasn't going to tell him anything if he turned up looking like a muggle.

he sighed. he wasn't looking forward to today's meeting at all. Yesterday he had received a letter from his cousin Narcissa, who he hadn't spoken to since she became a Death Eater, telling him to come to Grimmauld place. The letter had said:

_Dear Sirius,_

_I know you hate everything about your family, and the last thing you want to do is set foot in your old home. Believe me, the last thing I want to do write now is have to make contact with you, but I am writing to inform you that your father is ill and has requested to see you at nine 'o' clock tomorrow morning. _

_He wants to tell you something important – something about your brother. Don't ask me what it is, because he hasn't told me._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Sirius didn't really want to go, but he wanted to find out what his father had to say about his brother. Maybe his father would tell him something about his mother too. He hoped Narcissa wouldn't be there.

Narcissa used to be a really lovely girl. She used to stick up for Sirius and Regulus when Bellatrix was being mean. She even once rescued Regulus from Bellatrix, who was practising curses on him – something Sirius had never forgiven Bellatrix for. Most of the time she had been really sweet and caring, and at one time had actually been better to talk to than her sister, Andromeda.

But ever since Regulus had died, Narcissa had given up being decent. She had sided with her friend Lucius on everything, and had started to hang around with him, Barty Crouch and Rabastian Lestrange, who were all bad influences on her. Of course, Sirius's father had adored her, as she had been in Slytherin and also a prefect, unlike Sirius who was a Gryffindor, prankster and general troublemaker. Before Sirius knew it, Narcissa and her sister were both Death Eaters.

Sirius was almost glad Regulus had never seen the bad side of her. Perhaps if he hadn't died Narcissa wouldn't have changed.

He was not surprised that the letter had come to him through his cousin. For some odd reason that Sirius had not been told, his mother had been in Askaban since he was eight years old. After Andromeda and Sirius had both run away, both of them marrying muggle-borns or muggles, and Bellatrix had been locked away forever in Azkaban for torturing the Longbottoms, Narcissa had become his father's only proper contact.

Sirius stopped reminiscing and went downstairs. His wife, Sarah, was in the kitchen making toast for the children. It smelled delicious, but Sirius didn't have time to eat any of it since he was already running late that morning. He said goodbye to his wife before quickly grabbing some floo powder and disappearing into the fireplace.

When he arrived at his old home, Sirius went straight upstairs to what used to be his parents room. His father lay in the middle of the double bed, his face so pale that Sirius thought he was dead at first.

"What is it you wanted to tell me father?"

His father sat up slowly before answering Sirius. "I'm afraid I haven't been very honest with you?" he said.

"Is this when you tell me why mother was sent to Askaban?"

"Sort of," said his father, "but there is something else too."

"What?"

"Something I didn't know how to tell you at the time. The reason I obliviated you."

"You obliviated me?" shouted Sirius, angrily. "When did you do that?" He knew his father had never confided him about anything important, but he hadn't thought he would go that far to keep him out of the loop.

"When you were eight. The twenty-eighth of July to be exact."

"My brother's death date! You obliviated me so I would think it was illness didn't you! Did mother do it? Is that why she was put in Azkaban all those years ago?" Sirius shouted.

"Sirius, calm down," said his father.

"CALM DOWN! YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN! AFTER WHAT YOU DID! AFTER WHAT MOTHER DID!"

"Sirius, you have to listen to me. You don't ev-"

"I don't want to hear any more lies, father."

"But he might not even be dead!"

"What?" asked Sirius. There had been a birth date and a death date under Regulus' name since Sirius had been eight years old. Was his father implying that he was still alive, or was he just going senile?

"Your mother never used a killing curse. She used the cruciatus, and then another spell, and your brother just disappeared. Your mother used a time travel spell. You can check it on Ministry records – they used veritaserum on her in her trial."

"What sort of time spell?" asked Sirius.

"I don't know the name of it. The last person who used it went back about one thousand years or so to Merlin's time."

"So my brother could be anywhere?"

"Pretty much," said his father, nodding his head.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"So that you can find him, and reunite yourself with your little brother."

…..

_Back in the library, _

"…And so I checked it out at the Ministry. My father was actually telling the truth after all that time of lying to me," Sirius said, finally finishing his story.

"So that's what your doing. You're looking to see when he appeared. Need any help?"

Sirius nodded and the two men started searching through all the books for any sign of Sirius's little brother.

…..

A/N: Like it? Next chapter will probably be Sirius and Regulus meeting. I think I will call one of Sirius's children Leo Regulus Black, but I'm not sure – I had that name planned for a different character in a different story that I haven't started yet.

Please review what you think, or go on the poll. I have another poll as well about houses, but I don't know how other people can access it.


	12. Part 1 Chapter 11: Easter Surprises

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter Eleven: Easter Surprises

A/N: Hardly any people voted on the poll thing, so I decided to go for Regulus as a second name, which was really popular, and for Leo as a first name, as I quite like it. If you read this yesterday, the ending is slightly different.

March 1992

Regulus was waiting at King's Cross Station again. This time he had managed to drag Nr and Mrs Granger thought the barrier as well. It was just as well he had, because he had an entire half hour to wait before the train even pulled into the station.

The three of them were seated on a bench on platform nine and three-quarters. Mr Granger was sat on Regulus's right hand side, with a broadsheet newspaper spread out in front of him. Regulus sat in the middle with Mrs Granger on his right. She had taken the crossword section out of the newspaper, which Regulus was 'helping' her to answer.

They were so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn't notice that the station was starting to fill up with people. Regulus finally looked up, to see the station was now almost as crowded as it had been when he had last said 'goodbye' to Hermione after Christmas.

One particular family caught his attention more than any other.

The tallest was a man who looked to be in his early thirties. He had black, longish, shaggy hair that fell into his eyes, and had his arm around a blonde woman that looked a year or two younger than him. The man looked like he could be related to Regulus, but Regulus couldn't think of any one in his family that had been that age. The woman also looked familiar, but Regulus couldn't place her.

However, what Regulus found most striking was not the adults, but the children standing next to them. The boy and girl stood next to each other looked so similar to each other that Regulus couldn't help assuming that they were twins. They looked almost identical, except that the girl had her hair braided into two plaits down to her waist, whereas the boy had his hair cut fairly short like Regulus's own.

That wasn't what was remarkable either. Regulus had seen non-identical twins before – there was a pair in his class at school called Lucy and Thomas. No, what was odd was that the boy looked almost exactly how he remembered his brother to look.

"What's the matter Reg?" asked Mrs Granger. She must have noticed his staring.

"That boy looks like my brother," he whispered back, "but I don't remember having a sister."

"Why don't you go and talk to them?" his mother whispered back.

Regulus didn't really know what to say. He couldn't just walk up to him and ask "Are you my brother?" or something similar. The kid would think he was loony!

He waited until the man had walked over to talk to another family, one with two parents and a girl all with red hair, before going over to them.

"Hi," he said nervously. Now he was closer he noticed that while the boy had grey eyes like Sirius and himself, the girl had bright blue eyes.

"Hiya," they said at the same time as each other.

"I don't mean to be rude, but is your name Sirius, or do you know anyone called Sirius?" said Regulus.

"No, my name's Leo Black. Sirius is Dad's name though," said the boy.

"Oh no, not again," sighed Regulus.

"What's the matter?" asked the girl. "My name's Callie by the way."

"I did the same thing with Draco Malfoy. I thought he was Lucius!"

"Easy thing to do that. They look pretty similar," said Leo.

"Yeah, except for the twenty-five year age gap," said his sister laughing. "What's your name? You still haven't told us yet."

"Regulus."

"Hey that's weird. Your name's the same as my middle name!"

"So are you waiting for someone," Regulus asked.

"Yeah. Dad's picking up Harry Potter, who's his godson. He's coming over to stay with us this Easter holidays."

"Cool, I'm waiting for my sister, Hermione. I've heard all about Harry from her letters. Are you friends?"

"Yeah. Harry comes to our house all the time. He lives with his aunt and uncle, but they're horrible, so he likes it better at our house," said Callie.

"Look! The train's here!"

The three children, watched as the train drew to a halt. The doors opened, and hundreds of students piled off the train, including Harry and Hermione, who started lugging their bags towards them.

"Oh heck Leo. Have you cloned yourself or something," said Harry, looking between Regulus and Leo. Hermione just stood confused, until Regulus ran into her arms, and introduced his new friends.

It wasn't until the woman Regulus had seen earlier walked up to them that Regulus made the connection. It was the same girl he had seen in the market with Sirius when he was five years old. He did a quick calculation in his head – if that stupid potion had been right and he had been born in 1961, he would be thirty-one now. Sirius would be thirty-three; the same age as Leo and Callie's father.

"Sarah, is that you?"

"The woman nodded.

Suddenly everything made sense. He now understood why he had kept mistaking people for their parents, how Cissa was old enough to be a mother, and how Bella was old enough to do all those horrid things everyone kept saying she had done.

Regulus did the only logical thing that came to mind.

He fainted.

…..

A/N: Next chapter, Regulus will meet Sirius properly, and the two of them will be reunited once more. Please tell me what you think. Sirius's kids are non-identical twins and their full names are Leo Regulus Black, and Calliope Lilliana Black.


	13. Part 1 Chapter 12: Easter Surpises 2

Disclaimer: For copyright reasons I feel obliged to write this. I don't know why I can't just put this at the start of the story and then let it stand for the following chapters, but since everyone else does this, I'm going to do it to. For those of you who don't know this already I do not own the Harry Potter series.

Chapter Twelve

March 1992

"I think he's waking up," said someone to Regulus's left. The boy was lying on the bench, after suddenly collapsing. He felt dizzy and his eye lids felt too heavy to open. Someone was shaking his shoulder.

"Who is he? And what happened," said a man's voice.

"I don't know, but he knew my name," said a woman.

Regulus opened his eyes slowly. The person holding him was his mother (well Mrs Granger wasn't exactly his mother, but he thought of her as one). The woman was Sarah and the man looked like Sirius only about twenty years older than Regulus thought he should be. Harry, Hermione and the twins stood behind them.

"Siri? Is that you?" Regulus asked, sitting up.

Sirius didn't know what to do. Nobody had called him that for twenty four years. The kid looked a lot like Regulus used to and Sirius suddenly realised that him and Remus could have been looking in completely the wrong place. What if Regulus had been transported into the future, and not the distant future as Sirius would have expected but the near, foreseeable future.

"Reggie, is that you?" he asked.

Regulus nodded. Sirius pulled him into a hug, not wanting to let go in case his brother disappeared again. Mrs Granger just looked at them confused.

"Do you two know each other then?"

Regulus giggled. "Do you remember that potion Professor Dumbledore made me take?"

"The one that says you were born in August 1961?"

"Yeah, that one." Mrs Granger now looked even more confused. He turned to Hermione, "And do you remember what I said when we met Draco?"

"Oh, my, God! You can't be serious,"

"No, that's me," said Sirius. The twins rolled their eyes as if they had heard that joke too many times already.

Hermione continued, "So you time travelled. That's amazing!"

"No it's not, it's confusing. My brother, who is supposed to be only two years older than me is now all old and he's got kids of his own. We missed growing up together!"

"Hey I'm not old!" laughed Sirius.

"Yeah you are. Well, you're older than you should be."

"You mean you're younger than you should be," Sirius said.

Mrs Granger looked back and forth between Regulus, looking for similarities between them. They were all there.

...

Two hours later, Harry, Regulus, the Grangers and the Black family were all sitting in the Grangers' living room drinking tea. Mr and Mrs Granger sat in one of the armchairs with Mr Granger leaning over her shoulder, while Hermione and Harry were squeezed into the only other chair. The others were all squeezed onto the sofa; the children sitting on the adult's laps.

"So you've been living with the Granger's for nearly four years now," said Sirius to Regulus.

"Yeah, they're like family to me. They're much nice than I remember mother and father being."

"Well anyone would be nicer to live with than them. After you disappeared, Father obliviated me and told me you were dead. There's been two dates under your name ever since."

"That's silly, why would he say that?" asked Hermione.

"I suppose he didn't want me to think badly of Mother," said Sirius. "After Regulus 'died', she was sent to Azkaban. Father didn't tell me why until he about a month ago."

"So, apart from mother going to Azkaban, is everything else still the same, only older?" Regulus asked.

Sirius wasn't sure how he should answer this.

"Um well, your father was the same as when you left, except he died a few weeks ago. Sorry," Sarah said for him.

"And Bellatrix and Narcissa joined a group of dark wizards called the Death Eaters," Sirius added.

"But Cissy wouldn't do that!" Regulus exclaimed."So is what Neville's gran said true about Bella hurting her son?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. Neville's parents have been in St Mungos hospital for ten years and they may never recover because of what she did."

Sirius went on to explain how everything had changed in the past twenty or so years. Regulus felt sad; he had gained his brother back, but it seemed as if he had lost Cissy forever.

...

A/N: Sorry this hasn't been updated earlier. I have been doing past papers and Wednesday is my busy day. I might not always update every day now because of exams.

Do you think I should make Narcissa more involved in the story? I was thinking of having Regulus stow away in Hermione's suitcase with an extention charm. Do you think that would work?

Please review and look at the poll on my profile page. So far three people have been on it and they have all voted for separate things.


	14. Part 1 Chapter 13: Letters to Narcissa

Disclaimer: In case you didn't realise this at the start of the story, I'm not the official author of the Harry Potter series, and do not own the rights to commercially publish any works based on it. I also do not own Mary Poppins, who I have briefly mentioned in this chapter.

Chapter Thirteen: Letters

Regulus was very disappointed that Sirius and Narcissa weren't friends any more, and decided to try and do something about it. He decided to write a letter to Cissy, pretending to be Sirius.

_Dear Cissy,_

_Do you remember when we were little and we used to play together, just you, Reggie and me? How you would tell us stories about princes and princesses and muggles and things like they were no different to us? _

_I wish things could still be like that. We were so close and then you went and got involved with all those nasty Death Eater people. Why did you do that when you used to like sneaking out and playing with muggles just as much as we did?_

_Is it because Reggie died doing just that? If it is, I've got something that will make you change your mind._

_Do you remember that before he died, my Father said he had something to tell me? Well it turns out it was something really big that both of our parents have been keeping from us for more than twenty years – well I don't know if your parents knew the truth, but my Father certainly did._

_I recommend you go to the ministry of magic and look in the records under mysterious incidences or time travel in the year 1967._

_Love from Sirius. xxx_

(Regulus hurriedly crossed out that part. He didn't think Sirius would write that.)

_From Sirius_

Regulus sealed the letter in an envelope, addressing it to Malfoy Manor, which was where Sirius had said that Narcissa lived. He didn't know if Narcissa would read the letter – she might have hated Sirius so much that she ended up throwing it in the fire. He also wasn't sure if Narcissa would believe it was Sirius, as he wasn't sure what name terms they were on.

He waited a week, but there was no reply.

* * *

><p>It was the last day of the Easter Holidays. Hermione and Regulus had stayed for a week with Harry, Sirius and the twins – Regulus finally had a go on a broomstick, and found that he was almost as good as Harry was at seeker, if not better, while Hermione watched, a little scared of being on a broom.<p>

Unfortunately, Hermione was yet again faced with the difficulty of fitting all of her books back into her trunk. She, Regulus and the twins were in the room she was staying in, while Harry and Sirius were packing Harry's things.

"Do you think there's a spell which you could cast to make everything fit?" Hermione wondered out load.

"Like Mary Poppins's bag?" asked Regulus.

"Yeah, exactly like that," said Hermione

"Who's Mary Poppins?" asked Callie. Having been brought up my a wizarding family and not being the reading books type of children, the twins did not have as much knowledge about muggle story books as the others.

"She's a sort of magic Nanny in a story book," explained Hermione, "but she has this really amazing bag that's normal size and then she gets out all kinds of things like hat stands from it."

"Sounds like an extension charm. Dad can do those. I'll go and get him," said Callie, running out of the bedroom. Two minutes later, she came back, bringing Sirius with her.

Sirius pointed his wand at the trunk and said a spell. "There you go Hermione. You should be able to fit those books in and maybe a few elephants as well, although I'm not sure what you would want to put those in for."

"Thank you," said Hermione. Before Sirius walked out the bedroom, he cast a quick spell to make Hermione's trunk slightly lighter.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" said Leo to his sister, who nodded as if the two of them shared some weird telepathic connection, which, being magical twins, they probably did.

"Are you thinking that we should see if we also fit in that trunk?" asked Regulus.

"Yup," said Callie giggling.

"Are you alright with this Hermione," Regulus asked.

"Yeah sure, but when you lot get caught, I know nothing about it alright."

"Sure," said the other three.

To nobody's surprise, the three youngsters were a lot smaller that 'a few elephants' and therefore fitted well in the trunk, with lots of room to spare. When Hermione and Harry pulled their surprisingly light suitcases down the stairs, and carried them onto the train, Hermione felt relieved that Sirius didn't seem to notice anything was wrong.

"What's that relieved look for? Don't you like Sirius?" asked Harry.

"Of course I like him, who wouldn't. I was just worried he'd figure out that…"

"What?"

"You'll see when you get to Hogwarts."

* * *

><p>When Sirius returned home, he found that his house was unnaturally quiet. He found a note on the table from Sarah, telling him that the children had gone to the Granger's house for a few weeks (the children had asked her if they could go before they did their disappearing act). It was nothing unusual; the children were always going to their friends houses.<p>

He sat down, and was just enjoying the peace and quiet, when an owl flew in through the open window and delivered a letter.

_Dear Sirius,_

_I know you didn't write me that letter, but I don't know who else to address it to. I checked at the Ministry and with my parents and it seems that they did lie to me all those years ago. I don't know what you know so far, but it turns out that your mother was actually sent to Azkaban for using the cruciatus curse on Regulus, and also for using an illegal time travel spell on him._

_Anyway, I am writing to you because I think he is still alive, and he is definitely in this time period. I heard an odd account from Draco about a young boy, who looked a lot like the old photographs that mistook him for Lucius. At first I dismissed it thinking it to be a description of Leo, but you weren't in Diagon Alley that day, and I don't think even a child of yours could be that stupid._

_Please can we meet up, to discuss things._

_Yours Sincerely, _

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Sirius finished reading, and then pulled out the second letter in the envelope. He guessed this had been the original letter Narcissa had read. He laughed at the _'Love from Sirius. xxx'_ that had been scribbled out, and the childish tone. He knew exactly who had written that letter.

…

A/N The poll is still up for house sorting. Please Review.

P.S. I'm sorry for infrequent updates. I will be updating only once or twice a week until June 23rd, when all my exams are over – sorry, but it is hard doing four A levels and being expected to get A*s in at least half of them.


	15. Part 1 Chapter 14: The Map

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, Hermione, Ron, Regulus, Sirius, Fred or George.

Chapter Fourteen: The Map

It wasn't really very comfortable travelling in the suitcase. When Hermione lifted the heavy bag and dumped it on the luggage rack, the children were flung over to one side, landing on top of each other, with a pile of hard-back books on top. For that reason, Regulus was glad when they reached their destination – the Gryffindor girls' dormitory – and were able to climb out.

"Hmm," thought Hermione, "what are we going to do with you two now? We can't keep boys in here; Lavender and Pavarti would hate it."

"Um, they don't have to know. We could just hide under the beds or something," suggested Leo.

"Yes, but there's still me in here. I don't want _boys_ watching me get changed!"

"Why not? There's nothing I haven't seen before. You've seen _me_ in the _bath _Hermione."

"No. Your going in Harry's dorm and that's final," said Hermione.

"Um, Hermione, how are we going to get there without everyone seeing us?"

"With this," said Hermione. She reached into the pockets of her robes and pulled out a large, silvery piece of fabric.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Regulus, guessing form Hermione's letters as to what it was.

"Is that an invisibility cloak?" asked Leo.

"Yeah, I borrowed it from Harry to smuggle you around with. He doesn't know why yet, so you're going to surprise him," said Hermione. She then gave them directions to the boys' dormitory, and put the cloak over the two boys.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were unpacking their trunks and talking to one another about what they had been doing in the Easter holidays. Harry told Ron all about going to Sirius's and his time with Regulus, Hermione and the twins, while Ron told Harry that he had spent the holidays at the burrow, playing Quidditch with his brothers.

Suddenly, the door to the dormitory opened by itself.

"Hi Harry!" shouted Leo, pulling off the invisibility cloak, and causing Ron to jump about three feet into the air. "Thought you might like this." He handed Harry the cloak.

Ron just stared at the two boys. Leo had now managed to rugby tackle Harry to the ground, while Regulus just stood there looking slightly red.

"Um, hi Ron," he said.

…..

Downstairs in the common room, Fred and George Weasley were trying to plot a prank to scare the Slytherins on their first official day back. The prank involved going downstairs to the Great Hall after hours, to put a few charms on the Slytherin table.

"Shall we check the map to make sure no one's around, Fred?"

"Yeah, good idea." They then proceeded to check the Marauders map to make sure that there were no teachers or Filch on their route. There weren't any.

"That's good. Not a single teacher anywhere," said George

"Maybe they're all sleeping," said his twin. He checked the map again. "Hey, who's that in Harry's dorm. There should always be five or less people in dorms."

"Do you think Harry is hiding something?"

"There's only one way to find out."

Fred and George ran up the staircase and barged into Harry's bedroom. At first glance it looked as though the map had been wrong. The five beds each had only one person sitting on each, and all the curtains were open, so hiding in the four posters was not an option. However, being pranksters themselves, Fred and George new exactly where the best places to hide in the Dormitories were, and soon managed to pull Leo out.

The twins looked at the small, nine-year old and laughed. So he'd sneaked onto the Hogwarts express and got to Hogwarts. Cool.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone," they said at the same time as one another.

"How did you know?" asked Harry.

Leo smirked, already guessing the answer. "So you guys found the Marauders' Map then?"

"How?"

"My Dad helped make it. He's Padfoot."

"Awesome," chorused the Weasley Twins.

…..

A/N Sorry this is quite a short chapter. I got myself in a bit of a writer's block since I hadn't actually planned any of this story before I started. Should I make the Weasley family (or just the twins and Ron) more involved in the story?

Anyway, please review.


	16. Part 1 Chapter 15: Bellatrix

Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Harry Potter' series, and I am not planning on owning it any time soon. On my current income of pocket money, I am not likely to be able to buy the rights to commercially publish it anyway.

AN: I'm sorry this took so long to update. The actual writing of it didn't take long, but I was really stuck with ideas. Someone suggested I broke Walburga out of Askaban – thanks, I might actually do that soon, but that got me thinking about Bellatrix. I might break both of them out soon. Updates will be quicker as I am no longer taking exams. I also have two other stories on the go – see my profile page.

Chapter Fifteen: Bellatrix

A few weeks later, the twins and Regulus had settled into some sort of routine, secretly attending lessons with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Leo and Callie were only a year younger that Hermione (both were now eleven, so were not actually much younger than Harry was), so with a quick 'notice me not' charm, they could pass for first years. Being so small, and not actually having acquired a wand yet, made it very difficult for Regulus to actually take part in any of the lessons, so he used Harry's cloak to watch from a distance.

Unfortunately, hiding two hyperactive boys in a small dormitory was not an easy thing to do. Within two days, Seamus had discovered them, and by the end of the week Neville and Dean were in on it too. Luckily, all of them were perfectly happy to keep it a secret. Callie, being not quite as much as an overpoweringly loud and crazy general show off as her brother, had remained unnoticed by Hermione's dorm mates.

At this point in time, the twins had decided to go on an epic pranking trip with their newfound acquaintances, the Weasley Twins. At first, Regulus had been annoyed that all they wanted to do was prank people – he was much more interested in exploring the amazing castle and grounds, eager to compare the whole thing with the accounts in 'Hogwarts: A History', which he had read almost as soon as Hermione had finished it. He'd been with them on a couple of pranks. They mostly involved Slytherins, and sometimes Professors or Filch. One prank involved enchanting pieces of parchment and quills to follow a particular potions master with black greasy hair and a hooked nose. The quills sang 'Snivellous, we love you,' repeatedly in very high-pitched voices. It was all very silly and childish, Regulus thought.

This time he had chosen not to accompany the two sets of twins. He had decided instead to sit and talk to Neville Longbottom, who was the only other person in the dormitory – the others were all in the common room revising for the end of year exams. Hermione was especially worried about them, even though she always did well in tests, and Regulus had told her that she wouldn't be expelled for something as silly as not quite getting exactly 100% on the upcoming tests.

Regulus was supposed to be helping Neville practice charms. Wingardium Leviosa was one that he was having particular trouble with.

"Swish and flick, Neville. Swish and flick," Regulus said. "Like it says here." He pointed to the page in the textbook marked 'Wingardium Leviosa'.

"I can't do it. You try."

Regulus took the wand from Neville. He wasn't sure if it would work or not, seeing as it wasn't his wand, and he had never tried magic before. However, he was not going to waste the opportunity to try:

"Wingardium Leviosa," he said, pointing the want at Neville's quill, and doing the swish and flick movement Hermione had told him about. The feather quill, lifted slightly at one end before falling back down again. Regulus tried again, and this time the quill lifted right up and floated to the ceiling.

"Wow!" exclaimed Neville. "I wish I could've done it on my second try! Maybe it's because you're related to Hermione – she's really good at spells."

"That would make sense, except that I'm not really related to Hermione."

"What? But you're her little brother, and your name's Regulus Granger," said Neville. Neville was confused. It was now common knowledge that Regulus had been the one to write the letter to Harry and Ron, and he had definitely signed it Regulus A. Granger, indicating he was Hermione's brother. But then, thought Neville, he does look more like Leo and Callie than he does Hermione, and they're not related to Hermione at all.

"I'm adopted," said Regulus, simply. "My real parents were horrible to me – my Mother used the Cruciatus Curse on me." Neville's eyes widened in shock. That had been the curse that had put his Mum and Dad in St Mungo's Hospital. Regulus noticed, and tried to reassure him. "Don't worry, my Mother's in Askaban – she can't hurt me ever again."

"Who were your real parents?" asked Neville, hoping that it wasn't anyone as horrible as the Lestranges – having parents like that wasn't something he could bare thinking about.

"Orion and Walburga Black," Regulus replied.

Neville gasped. Black! They were one of the worst pureblood families, apart from maybe the Malfoys! All of them, apart from Sirius and one other, who had been blasted off the family tree, had been in Slytherin house and they were all dark wizards, mostly Death Eaters. He remembered his Gran telling him once that Bellatrix Lestrange had been a Black before she had been married, and she was one of the most evil people in existance!

"But Gran told me that Walburga Black's been in Askaban since the 1960s. How on earth were you born?"

"Do you remember what she told you my Mother went to Askaban for?" Regulus asked.

"She killed one of her own kids. She practically blasted her youngest child off the face of the earth for talking to a muggle," Neville said.

"What if she didn't actually kill him though? She was actually only put in Askaban for use of the Cruciatus curse. What if she used a time spell not a killing curse?" Neville was now doing something peculiar with his mouth, which looked like an impression of a goldfish.

Realisation hit him. "So that was you?"

Regulus nodded. "Yeah. My mind went blank from the curse and I lost most of my memories, and then I woke up on the same street in the dark. I just thought it was a few hours later, and didn't realise I had gone forward in time until I met Leo. I thought he was Sirius!"

"But that's awful. How could anyone do that to their own child – no wonder Bellatrix was messed up!"

"I don't know much about what happened to Bellatrix, Sirius won't really tell me much – he thinks I'll be upset or something – I know she did something really bad though because your Gran said something about it Diagon Alley," said Regulus. "Her parents weren't as bad as mine though. Bellatrix used to be OK. She was really mean sometimes, but she would look after me sometimes when Mother wouldn't. She read me all the wizarding fairytales I know. Sirius says they only ever went really bad after I 'died', so in a way it's my fault."

Neville wasn't really sure what to make of this information. It wasn't Regulus's fault at all – he hadn't meant to disappear for over twenty years, and it was certainly not his fault what Bellatrix had done. That was all down to Bellatrix's bad choices, or perhaps down to the other Lestranges who had led her on.

"None of it was your fault, Reggie," he said.

"What exactly did she do? I've only heard bits of it, and they don't really fit with the Bellatrix I knew."

"She joined 'You Know Who' in the-" began Neville.

"Who?" asked Regulus.

"Voldemort - the guy who murdered Harry's parents. She joined his group of followers – the Death Eaters – in the seventies, and wh-"

"Why did she do that? Join him, I mean."

"I don't know. She just did. Anyway, when Harry killed him, she came after my parents, because they were against Voldemort. She, and her husband, his brother and another Death Eater used 'Crucio' on them, but my parents wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know," Neville was starting to get upset. Regulus went to sit next to him, and told him he didn't have to carry on, but he carried on anyway. "They were under the curse so long, they went insane, and they've been in hospital ever since." Neville's body started to shake, and Regulus put his arm around him while he cried. Regulus still couldn't believe his cousin had done something so cruel. He wondered if, had he been there, he could have stopped her.

The two boys sat in silence for a while, until Neville calmed down.

"Would you like to do something to get revenge on Bellatrix, for what she did?" asked Regulus. Neville didn't look as if he wanted to talk about her ever again, but to Regulus's surprise, he nodded his head.

"How?" he asked.

"I've got an idea for a prank that will really scared her. Follow me."

Neville followed Regulus out of the dormitory, down the stairs, through the portrait and round a few corners. They stopped when they came to an empty corridor with a rather ugly tapestry of 'Barnabas the Barmy'.

"Where are we?" asked Neville.

"It's a place my cousin once told me about." Neville's eyes widened in horror – he was obviously thinking about Bellatrix again. "No, not that cousin, Nev. After I met Sirius, I started to get more of my memories back. My cousin Andromeda told me about a special room she and her muggle born boyfriend used to use when they were at Hogwarts. It's around here somewhere."

"I can't see anything here."

"No, you have to think about how much you need a room. My cousin used to think about a room she could be in where no one could find her and Ted, but if we think that we'll probably end up in a room full of heart-shaped cushions or something. To make the right room appear we need to think about a room full of books and potions for pranking, and walk up and down three times," said Regulus.

The two of them did exactly what Regulus had said. Sure enough, a door appeared in the wall. The boys walked in, and were amazed to see a big room with shelves of books, cauldrons, potion ingredients, and a desk for plotting pranks. It was exactly what Regulus had had in mind, and he knew exactly what he was going to do next.

…..

AN: The next chapter should be up soon. I am going to write a double scene chapter about Narcissa next, and then Regulus and Neville will carry out their prank. Regulus pranks less often than the twins, but when he does, they are much bigger and less trivial. I've already decided what they are going to do, but if you have any guessed, tell me in the review. Regulus is upset with Bellatrix, but also wants to see her. He'll get to do that in the prank. He also feels guilty, becasue he thinks that if he had been there, she wouldn't have hurt his new friend's parents - of course, he wasn't actually alive anyway in the books when this happened. Review and tell me your thoughts on this.

Please review the chapter.

Also, I have a new story – 'Not What You Think', and 'The Youngest God'. The first is about Regulus, Sirius and Andromeda and how they grow up. The second is a funny story about Apollo from 'Percy Jackson and The Olympians'. You can read them if you go on the profile page, or if you click on the link. With the first one, start writing www. fanfiction, and then add the rest. If the first doesn't work, copy the second into the bar at the top of the screen and delete the spaces.

.net/s/7110354/1/Not_What_You_Think

h ttp: /w iction. net /s/ 7110 354/1/No t_Wh at_Y ou_Th ink


	17. Part 1 Chapter 16: Narcissa

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations in this chapter, except Sarah, and she is not involved very much._

_AN: Thanks for reviewing. This chapter will hopefully answer your questions as to why Sirius is not at all worried about the twins' whereabouts. If you are still confused, please see the chapter 'Letters to Narcissa'._

**Chapter Sixteen: Narcissa**

Narcissa wasn't really sure what to think: she had just received a letter from Sirius with arrangements for them to meet up, and was contemplating on whether to go. However, she was a little unsure of how to talk to Sirius – after all the awful things that she, Lucius and Bellatrix had done, she was positive Sirius could only hate her. And that was the crux of the matter. She had to talk to him, she had to say sorry, because that first letter had really unsettled her.

After checking everything out at the 'Ministry of Magic', she had enough evidence to suggest that the first letter was from Regulus. It seemed incredible, and yet heartbreaking in itself. She had cried bitterly when her baby cousin had died. The only people that had been there to comfort her had been her oldest sister Bella, and her own best friend, Lucius. They'd managed to turn all her hatred and anger at the world for killing her cousin into pure hatred of muggles. And now, as she reread the letter, she realised just how big a mistake she had made.

_Do you remember when we were little and we used to play together, just you, little Reggie and me? How you would tell us stories about princes and princesses and muggles and things like they were no different to us? _

_I wish things could still be like that. We were so close and then you went and got involved with all those nasty Death Eater people. Why did you do that when you used to like sneaking out and playing with muggles just as much as we did?_

She knew that Sirius would never write in such a childish tone, and it broke her heart reading that letter. At least she hadn't ever actually taken the dark mark like her sister – she would never have forgiven herself if she'd done that. Still, she'd been involved – she'd supported the Dark Lord and she'd killed muggles, or held them still while her sister tortured them. How could she have done that to people she used to play with, who she used to treat with the same respect as she'd treated the purebloods in her own house.

And then there was Lucius. He hadn't been mentioned in the letter, but she knew what 'nasty Death Eater people' meant. He'd been horrible to her little cousin (and also to Sirius for that matter), but she'd stayed friends with him. Why? Why couldn't she just have been a little braver like Andromeda, and just left them to it.

Narcissa folded the letter and put it in the box under the bed where she kept all the other things from their childhood. She decided one thing. She was going to see Sirius and she was going to sort everything out between them.

…..

She was nervous as she knocked on her cousin's door. She remembered the muggle girl he had married, and how, on one particular Death Eater raid, they had captured her and used her as bait for the order. Narcissa had been in charge of the prisoners at that time, and the poor girl had begged her to let her go. Narcissa had done nothing.

Hopefully Sarah wouldn't be in.

Sirius opened the door, looking surprised to see her. Did he really think she wouldn't come, for information on her favourite cousin? "Actually," she thought, "I haven't really shown him that I cared much, so I can't really blame him."

"Hello cousin," said Narcissa.

"Hello, would you like to come in?" said Sirius. Narcissa could tell he was trying his best to be polite, but the words came out forced. There was so much hatred there, and she'd been the one to cause it. She'd never felt guiltier in her life.

She followed her cousin into the living room, where she was invited to sit on a comfortable-looking armchair. A blonde woman scurried out, claiming she was going to make tea. She gave Narcissa death glare. Sirius and Narcissa sat in awkward silence.

"So, um, what's been happening Sirius?"

"Oh, nothing much," began Sirius, sarcastically. "I just discovered my brother's alive and living with muggles."

"Where? Which ones? When did you find out?"

"He's living with a family called the Grangers," explained Sirius. "I only found him because they have a muggle-born daughter the same age as Harry is."

"Oh. Is it definitely him?" asked Narcissa. She wanted to be sure she had the right person before she started knocking on muggle people's doors.

"Yes, it's definitely him. He recognised Sarah, and thought Leo was I, and Draco was Lucius. He also looks almost exactly the same, as he used to – just older – and he was found in the same place he was lost from."

"Ok, so where is he now. I have to see him, he's still my baby cousin."

Sirius gave Narcissa directions to the Grangers house, which she immediately apparated to. However, there was something amiss. There were no kids in sight when she knocked on the door and was shown into the house. The muggle parents were nice, but then they had no reason to be horrible. They didn't know what she'd done in the past!

The Grangers seemed to think Regulus was at Sirius's house, while Sirius seemed to think they were all at the Granger's house. This was extremely odd, and confused Narcissa greatly. If they had been victims of a Death Eater attack, she would surely have been told, seeing as she was basically in charge of all prisoners during the war. They didn't even know about Regulus anyway, so they couldn't have kidnapped him. This only left one possibility.

The twins and Regulus were up to no good. They were obviously doing something secret that they didn't want any parents to know about. Narcissa laughed to herself – it was exactly the sort of thing Sirius would have done at that age!

She decided to let them have their fun.

…..

However, there was someone else that Narcissa needed to visit. Not for a chat, or a nice, civil cup of tea. No, this person was someone Narcissa just wanted to yell her head off at and curse her to the ends of the earth. She wouldn't do this of course – if it could be practical, she would leave her wand at home to avoid this happening. It took a long time and a lot of paperwork, but eventually she managed to arrange a meeting.

Narcissa set off in the direction of Azkaban. She was going to have a good screaming rant at her Aunt Walburga Black.

Unfortunately, there had to be a guard present at all times. This annoyed her tremendously because it meant that the use of the Cruciatus Curse was forbidden. However, screaming and yelling wasn't and Narcissa did plenty of this! By the time she had finished, every single prisoner and guard in the place had learnt that Regulus did not die of natural causes, Regulus was not in fact dead at all, Narcissa's parents and uncle had lied to her, Mrs Black was (insert as many rude words and swear words as you like – the girl said them all), and that if it was not illegal, Narcissa would have used every curse there was on her Aunt.

…..

_AN: So now Mrs Black and Bellatrix both know Regulus is alive. What Narcissa did was actually quite stupid, because now all the Death Eaters know and some of them might want to kill him again. How do you think Bellatrix will feel? Will her reaction be similar to Narcissa's? How do you think they will react to whatever Neville and Regulus are planning?_

_Please tell me what you think in a review._

_Also, tell me what you think of putting the twins in separate houses, to create some drama. They will be going to hogwarts with Ginny next year._

_I also have a poll on my profile page for what house to put Reggie in. You've got the whole of the 'Chamber of Secrets' to vote, but please vote so I can plan ahead. I was thinking of Ravenclaw, so he can play quidditch against Harry and also make friends with Luna. He is also more clever and bookish than the twins._

_(I am British so if there are any weird figures of speech you don't understand just ask)._


	18. Part 1 Chapter 17: Draco

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter Seventeen: Draco Gets A Scare**

Luckily for Regulus and Neville, the room of requirement contained all of the books and ingredients they would need for the potion. Both potions were simple enough that a nine-year-old boy, and a first year who was rather bad at potions, could brew them. By the time they had finished brewing, and managed to get permission from the ministry to visit Bellatrix, Neville had also learnt to do Wingardium Leviosa perfectly. That part was crucial for the prank.

The two children sat next to the two cauldrons, which had just had the last ingredient added. Regulus took two bottles from a shelf, and filled each one with a different potion. Then he turned to his friend:

"Should we test it first, to see if it works?"

"Yeah, go on. Are you sure we've done it exactly right?" Neville asked. Regulus looked at the potions. They certainly looked the right colour, and he had followed the instructions to the letter. It couldn't possibly go wrong, could it?

"Yes, I'm sure. Which one first."

"That one," said Neville, pointing at the one on the left, with the blue swirling potion in it.

Regulus nodded, and went off to look for a suitable vessel. He came back with just a spoon, and scooped some of the liquid up. "It says here," he pointed to the relevant page in the book, "that however much you take, the effect will still be the same. If you take more, the potion will last longer."

He took a sip, but noticed nothing.

"Are you sure you-" began Neville.

"Aargh," yelled Regulus. "Oh Merlin this feels so weird!" Neville watched as Regulus's features changed slightly. His eyes looked bigger and his face looked rounder, and then he began to get smaller.

"It looks weird too," commented Neville, looking at the now six-year-old Regulus, sitting in front of him. "Well it definitely worked then. Try the next one."

Regulus dipped the spoon into the other cauldron. This time, the liquid was silver in colour with a pearly effect. He put the spoon in his mouth and then wrinkled his nose up in disgust. "Um, this tastes terrible. Can you drink it instead?" he asked.

"No, it has to be you. Your voice sounds funny by the way."

"Does it? How funny."

"Well it's not that different, just more babyish."

"Obviously. I've just de-aged myself three years," said Regulus. He swallowed the silver potion and Neville gasped at its effect on him. He looked like a ghost.

"This is going to make it so much easier to get you into the dorms unnoticed, Reg," said Neville sarcastically.

"Yes, but who wants to be unnoticed. Remember the charm?" Neville nodded, not quite sure what he would need Windardium Leviosa for. "Good," said Regulus, "because we are going to need it."

Neville followed Regulus out of the secret room. He still wasn't entirely sure what Regulus was planning on doing now – he knew the details of the 'Bellatrix prank', but he couldn't ever get into his head exactly what Regulus was thinking. Regulus peered over the railings of the grand staircase and proceeded to walk down it.

"Um, Reg," said Neville, confused. "You do realise the common room is the other way don't you?" Neville wasn't the brightest of students – he was actually one of the most forgetful – but after almost a year at Hogwarts, he knew his way around the castle. And he knew that Gryffindor common room was on the seventh floor, not wherever is de-aged friend was going.

"Yes Nev, but the Slytherins are this way: we're going to have a little bit of fun. After all, we've got half an hour before curfew. That's loads of time for a good prank." Neville wondered if the potion had done something to his friend's brain – pranking Slytherins only resulted in hexes and trouble, which neither of them knew how to defend themselves against.

"Are you sure you want to," said Neville. "I mean Slytherins are well, mean, and there not going to think about the fact you can't fight back."

"Nev, I know what I'm doing. If this is going to scare Bellatrix, it's going to scare them mindless."

"Yes, but they don't know who you are? You're just a random kid to them!" argued Neville.

"I have someone in mind, and I know he deserves it because he's been bothering you for weeks," said Regulus. Neville nodded, understanding exactly whom Regulus meant.

The two of them walked down a further seven flights of stairs, to the area by the dungeons. There were a group of Slytherins just round the corner, and Regulus could see that one of them was their target. "Cast the charm on me now, Neville," he whispered. Neville cast Wingardium Leviosa on Regulus, causing him to float, like a real ghost. "Now make me hover just round that corner, Neville!"

Draco Malfoy and his slytherin friends watched as the ghost of a small boy appeared. Draco immediately recognised him from one of the photographs of his mother's family. He remembered his mother telling him that the boy's name was Regulus, and that he had died from illness at a very young age.

"Hi cousin," said Regulus brightly. Draco started to look a bit scared, his ugly mates backing down the corridor.

"What do you want?" Draco asked.

"Just to tell you how wonderful your family is. Did you know my own Mother murdered me, because of one thing I did wrong?" Draco looked confused. This wasn't what his mother had told him. Surely his family wasn't _that_ evil.

"What did you do?" asked Draco.

"I talked to a muggle and a muggleborn witch. Something I know you've done plenty of times, so you'd better watch it!"

"How do you know that?"

"I've been watching you, Draco. Would you like me to tell your mother what you've been up to?"

"N-no," stuttered Draco. He couldn't believe someone in his family would murder their own child. It was disgusting, but the evidence was there, staring him in the face. He took one last look at the boy ghost, and legged it down the corridor.

…..

AN: Thanks for all the reviews I've got for chapters sixteen and seventeen.

I wasn't really sure what Regulus could say to freak Draco out, but I figured if you found out your family were as crazy as Walburga Black was in this story, it would be quite scary. Regulus took a chance that Draco had talked to muggles on his own, because he knew that he, Sirius and Narcissa had all done it before. Luckily, in this story, Draco had, and was terrified of his mother finding out. Just to let you know, Narcissa would never do that to Draco anyway.

Neville and Regulus will be visiting Bellatrix next chapter. This will take place after Cissy's rant, so Bellatrix, will be extremely confused. Add to this that she has spent nearly eleven years in Azkaban, is mad, and was very close to Regulus anyway, and there should be some drama.

Please vote on the poll for which house to put Regulus in. I'd also like some extra opinions on who should end up with the diary, and which houses to put the twins in. I'll take all points into consideration, but I won't tell you what I will do.

Please read my other stories. Also, I have a new story which you may not have found. It is a Percy Jackson crossover, but is begins in 1979 in the Horcrux cave.

Please Review this chapter.


	19. Part 1 Chapter 18: Azkaban

_Disclaimer: I don't own the 'Harry Potter' books, or any of the main characters in this story._

_AN: This takes place while Harry, Ron and Hermione are on the third floor corridor, so I won't be rewriting that section._

_Thanks for your support on chapters 16 and 17._

**Chapter Eighteen: Azkaban**

Regulus ran down the stairs to the common room after his sister, but stopped when he saw Neville lying on the floor under a full body bind curse. He was annoyed that Hermione hadn't told him that she, Ron and Harry would be going after the Philosopher's Stone that night. Also, what would happen if she got hurt? He was the only other person who knew they were going.

He grabbed Neville's wand, and said a spell that he had seen Hermione practising. Luckily it worked, and Neville's body began to move.

"Who did this?" asked Regulus. He thought he knew already (Hermione was the only person he knew that could do it), but he wanted to be sure just in case it hadn't been.

"Hermione," replied Neville.

"Thought so. But why?"

"I tried to stop them going out of the portrait," said Neville. "Are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah. I've just got to write a letter, and then we'll go, alright." The two of them had planned to carry out their prank that night, specifically because the all-knowing Albus Dumbledore was away that night.

Regulus and Neville used the marauder's map, which they had borrowed from Fred and George Weasley, to navigate their way to the Owlery without getting caught. Regulus hastily wrote a note to Dumbledore, informing him of Hermione's dangerous plans, but not if his own, and tied the anonymous letter to one of the school owls. They two children watched the owl as it flew off into the night, and then made their way to Hogsmeade along one of Hogwarts' many secret passageways.

It had been Neville's idea to use the Knight Bus, and since he was the only one that knew all about it, he was the one that summoned it. The two of them climbed aboard the triple-decker bus, and were greeted by a young man, who introduced himself as Stan Shunpike.

"So who are you, and where might you be going?" he asked. "You look a little be young to be out at this time of night."

Neville was ready for this, and answered the question the way they had planned to. "My name's Seamus Finnegan, and he's Leo Black. We are going to the Ministry of Magic to meet my father, who will be expecting us in an hour." It was a lie, but a believable one, and Stan didn't have a problem with it. He asked them no more questions except whether they would be having hot chocolate, to which both boys said, "yes," to. Neville paid, and they boarded the bus.

The ride to the heart of London was bumpy and uncomfortable, but it certainly beat travelling in a suitcase. The Knight Bus dropped them off outside a telephone box, which Regulus knew one of the entrances to the ministry. A man stepped out of the red box, and walked up to them, introducing himself as the head officer in charge of visitors to Azkaban. He didn't reveal his name or the location of Azkaban for security reasons, so Regulus privately labelled him as Mr No-Name.

Mr No-Name took the two of them to a dark island with a lake around it via side-along apparition. A tall building stood in front of them, and Regulus thought it would be an ideal location in which to set a horror film or ghost story, but he didn't say so.

"You can't take anything with you which we think may aid the escaping of one of our prisoners," said Mr No-Name. "Do you have anything on you which you wish to declare? I suppose you are too young to have a wand aren't you?" he said to Regulus.

Neville reluctantly handed over his wand, but Mr No-Name ordered a prison guard to searched their pockets anyway, and brought out the two vials of liquid. "What's this?" he asked.

"Oh, those are perfectly harmless," said Regulus. He drunk the contents of them in quick succession, and held out the empty bottles grinning. The guard took them, and the two older men laughed – the potions were indeed perfectly harmless. However, they couldn't help wondering why on earth a visiting nine-year-old would want to de-age himself three years. They quickly took the two boys to their final destination.

…..

Regulus hadn't been sure what to expect when he saw Bella, but this hadn't been it. The Bellatrix he'd known had been a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl, with the classic, aristocratic, beauty of the Black family, and perfectly styled, long, black silky hair. She had always worn the best clothes her family could afford, which had been quite fancy, as she came from one of the oldest, most well established, pureblood families. However, this Bellatrix was older, was wearing torn prison wear, and was dirty with tangled hair. She looked as if she had been starved – her arms were thin and bony, and her eyes were sunken into her skull. She was quite a scary sight.

On seeing the arrival of her ghost cousin, she pressed her face to the bars of the prison cell and screamed. The sound chilled Regulus to the bone, and the poor child wondered what on earth had happened to her to make her like this. Bella sounded like a madwoman.

"You! You're supposed to be dead! Why do these dementors play these tricks on me?" she rasped.

"What are dementors?" asked Regulus, turning away from her.

"Dark creatures that prey on the memories of the people in here. They cause the people here to relive their worst memories," explained one of the prison guards. Regulus frowned, but didn't say anything. How could anyone deserve to live in a place full of such awful things? He carried on with his ghost act trying to scare Bellatrix. It seemed to be working – she was becoming more and more frustrated and terrified, but then she remembered something.

"Last week, Cissy was here. She said you were alive, and that you were here and living with mudbloods," she stated.

…..

Alone in her cell, Bellatrix Lestrange mulled over the events of the previous weeks. She'd had so many visions from the dementors driving her insane, that she couldn't decide what was true and what wasn't. She suspected though, that what she had thought she had heard her sister say was true. Her baby cousin was alive, and he was young and vulnerable.

She had to get out to find out what had happened. She also knew she had to protect him. Her Aunt had heard everything Cissy had shouted too – she had been the one who had been shouted after all. Bellatrix knew her Aunt and she knew that Walburga would do everything it took to finish the job she had started. The woman wouldn't rest until she had blasted her blood-traitor child off the face of the earth! The only consolation was that she didn't know about Sirius.

Bellatrix felt a wave of accidental wandless magic escape her, and the bars of the cell vanished. She did what any other mad person would do in that situation, and ran for it.

…..

_AN: Well that's the end of part one of this story. Part two will be up soon, and will be on the same document. It will tell the story of Hermione's second year, and the twins' first year. Riddle's diary, petrification, and two Askaban escapees are soon to come. Remember, this is my first fanfiction, so if you have any advice, please tell me. Also, if you have any advice on sorting Leo and Callie, it is much appreciated. The poll is still up for Regulus's house too._

_Please read my other Regulus stories: 'Not what you think', in this section, and 'Nico di Angelo and the Horcrux cave' in the crossovers section. They are not as long as this one yet, but I plan on extending them a lot._

_Please review, and tell me what you think._

_Sadie K_


	20. Part 2 Chapter 1: Dobby

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

AN: Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter.

**Part Two **

**Chapter One: Dobby**

Hermione was in a bad mood, and all because Harry hadn't written back to her.

"Mione, there must be some reason why he's not writing – he's your best friend; he wouldn't just forget you. Maybe his Aunt and Uncle are confiscating all of his letters, like they did last summer. If he hasn't got the letters, then he can't write to you," Regulus said. He was sitting next to her on the bed. Both had their noses buried in a book, but Regulus could sense that his sister was still upset.

"Yes, but he could still write a letter," Hermione said.

"Perhaps the Dursleys won't let Hedwig out of the cage."

Hermione only sighed in reply.

"Why don't we go to his house, and see if he is alright, Mione?" asked Regulus. Hermione's face brightened a little at this suggestion. Perhaps if they visited Harry, they could find out why he wasn't writing.

The two of them asked their parents nicely if they could go and see their friend, and were delighted when the answer was yes. Mrs Granger stopped them by the front door to wipe sun cream on Regulus's face and arms before letting them go.

"You'll be back by tea time won't you?" she asked. Hermione nodded, and Mrs Granger gave them a quick kiss on the cheek each before letting them go.

"So, do you actually know where Harry lives?" asked Regulus. "Have you thought about how we're going to get there?"

"Of course I have," said Hermione. Regulus looked at her expectantly. "Harry lives at No.4 Privet Drive," she explained, "and we're getting there the same way you and Neville went to the Ministry." After seeing the look on her brother's face, Hermione added, "and yes. I know about that. Neville told me all about it, but I haven't told anyone."

"I know about your adventure too. Harry and Ron told me all about it," said Regulus.

Hermione called the Knight Bus, and this time when they climbed on, they gave Stan their real names – well technically Regulus's name was Black, not Granger, but most people called him Granger like Hermione, because it was just easier to do so. The fare was much cheaper this time, because they were not going to be travelling very far, and they did not have any hot chocolate. The bus dropped them off on a street full of identical houses with very neat gardens.

"Is this the right place, Mione?" Regulus asked. Hermione pointed to the sign that said 'Privet Drive', making Regulus feel a little stupid for not looking in the first place. She led him along the street towards number four, and they were just about to knock on the door, when Regulus heard a commotion in the bushes. "Stop," he whispered. "There's something over there!"

The two of them walked towards the bush and saw that a very strange creature was hiding there. It was small, skinny and almost humanoid, but it had a very large head with humungous eyes and pointed ears. The creature looked very surprised at being discovered.

"Dobby?" asked Regulus. The creature looked like a house elf called that, whom Regulus remembered from childhood.

"How do you know Dobby, sir," the house elf asked.

"I remember you. You're Lucius Malfoy's house elf aren't you? What are you doing all this way from the manor?"

"Dobby has been very bad, sir. He has come to warn Harry Potter not to go back to Hogwarts," said Dobby. The house elf then began to hit himself with a stick, which happened to be the nearest hard object present.

"I order you to stop, Dobby," said Regulus, calmly. To his surprise, the house elf stopped. He must have been told to obey orders from purebloods or something. "Now why are you trying to prevent my sister's friend from coming to Hogwarts?"

"Harry Potter is in grave danger," said Dobby.

"How come?" asked Hermione.

"Master has forbidden Dobby to say."

Regulus noticed that Dobby was holding something, and asked to see what it was. Dobby gave it to him, apologising, and Regulus and Hermione looked at it. It was a bag containing all the letters that Hermione and Ron had sent to Harry. Hermione felt angry, but Regulus interjected. He knew that house elves thought differently to people, and wanted to hear Dobby's side of the story.

"Dobby thought that if Harry thought his friends didn't write, he wouldn't go back to Hogwarts. Harry mustn't go back to Hogwarts."

"So you wanted to protect Harry," said Regulus.

"That seems reasonable, but Harry isn't like that. Hogwarts is his home, and he would much rather be in danger than stay with his Aunt and Uncle," said Hermione. She and Regulus left the house elf and walked up to the front door. Hermione pressed the door bell, and it was answered by a very fat boy, who resembled a pig in a wig that had been dressed in a suit. He looked very surprised to see them, as if he had been expecting someone completely different to arrive.

"Hello, we are here to see Harry," Hermione said. We have something to deliver for him."

"Go away. No Harry Potter lives here," said the boy.

"Oh, I think he does," said Hermione. "You're Dudley Dursley, and if you don't let us see Harry, I'll hex you!"

The boy looked afraid, and said that Harry Potter was upstairs. Hermione and Regulus ran upstairs to Harry's bedroom, where Harry was.

"Harry!" cried Hermione. "I've missed you, and we've found out why we haven't been getting any letters. A… what was it again?"

"House elf," said Regulus.

"Yeah, a house elf. This house elf called Dobby says that you will be in danger next year, so was trying to stop you from going to Hogwarts. He's been intercepting your letters all summer!" Hermione said. She gave Harry the bag of letters they had taken from Dobby.

Harry took out the first letter. It was from Ron asking him if he would like to stay for the summer. "Can you tell Ron, I said yes, please," Harry said. "Uncle Vernon won't let me have Hedwig out of her cage."

"Of course we will," said Hermione. "You can read our letters later, but what else is in there?"

Harry reached into the bag and pulled out a large bundle. It contained a letter from Hagrid, and a recent copy of the 'Daily Prophet'. "Oh hell, look at the front page," said Harry, handing it over to Hermione. Regulus peered over her shoulder and read the article:

**Askaban Breakout**

**_Last Saturday, two residents from High Security broke out of the wizard prison Azkaban. No one is quite sure how this was achieved, as the prison is thought to be secure and impenetrable. The two witches, Bellatrix Lestrange and Walburga Black were set for life time imprisonment, but broke out independently of one another, shortly after being visited last month._**

_**The resident Walburga Black, was first imprisoned for child abuse and for the use of the Cruciatus on her youngest child. She is highly dangerous, and if sighted should be reported immediately. Her niece, Bellatrix is equally dangerous and was imprisoned for using the Cruciatus curse on the Longbottoms. There is a reward for information on either of them.**_

_**It is thought that the two are not working together, but broke out for entirely separate, opposite reasons.**_

_**Story continues on page 2.**_

After reading that much, Regulus felt sick and didn't want to read anymore. Hermione and Harry read all of page two and were sharing looks of concern. Regulus knew that the both of them had broken out initially because of him, and that if they did anything to anyone, it would be his fault for going to visit.

…..

AN: This is the first chapter concerning 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. Please review and tell me what you think.


	21. Part 2 Chapter 2: Reunions

_Disclaimer: I do not own Diagon Alley or any of the characters mentioned._

**Chapter Two: Reunions**

Narcissa Malfoy slammed the door behind her. Her husband didn't understand her sudden change in view, and hated it that she had been spending more time conversing with Sirius. They'd just had their thirtieth row that week, which had meant that poor Draco had had to witness spells and unforgivable curses being cast in every direction, and she really needed to get away from every one.

She headed for Diagon Alley, but just as she rounded the corner where the 'Leaky Cauldron' was situated, she was suddenlt pulled sideways into a narrow alleyway. The first thing she noticed about her attacker was the skinniness of the arms that were holding her. Narcissa could feel every bone, as if the person had been starved and had no fat or muscle left at all. She noticed the long, dark and curly, yet messy hair falling her around her, and realised that she was actually been held in a tight hug.

Narcissa turned around to get a proper look at the woman holding her. Though she was older, thinner and rather crazed looking, Narcissa could still recognise that it was her sister. She didn't know whether to be pleased or afraid. What should one say to a sister that cared for you all your life, but who killed and tortured people, even purebloods, into insanity?

"Cissa?" said Bellatrix, letting her sister go. "Is it true what they are saying in the profit? Has Auntie broken out too? Is she trying to kill Reggie?"

"Slow down Bella. Yes, I think it is. It's my fault for telling her everything. I didn't mean to, but I was so angry."

"No, it's not your fault. Reggie came to visit me too. I think it was some kind of prank he was doing with Longbottom, but it scared the hell out of me. How is he still alive?"

"He was never dead. Auntie accidentally sent him forwards in time, but now she wants to kill him," Narcissa said. "How did you escape?"

"Random burst of accidental magic. I don't really know what happened; I just knew we couldn't let her hurt Regulus. He's like a baby brother to me."

Narcissa was slightly shocked that Bellatrix would still care so much. She had expected her to be crazy from Azkaban – Bella had turned into a maniac killer before Azkaban, so surely she should be even worse after. Perhaps, like herself, Bellatrix had a soft spot for their little cousin. Also, random bursts of magic like that were usually unheard of past the age of eleven, when children learnt how to channel magic – maybe a spell of not being able to use magic had caused a build up of it. Still, Bellatrix was dangerous, powerful and not to be trusted around children. Narcissa was not letting her anywhere near her baby cousin.

"I'll make sure he's protected. Make sure you stay somewhere out of sight yourself. There's been pictures of you on muggle TV, so don't walk about in the middle of London. Go to one of the villas in Europe – their unplottable and the ministry won't be able to find you."

"No, I'm not staying out of this. I'm going to Grimmauld to see if I can spy on Auntie, maybe talk her out of it." With that, Bellatrix apparated away, leaving Narcissa to stand thinking about what to do for the rest of the day.

…..

Narcissa found herself wandering around a muggle street. She was sure this was the house Regulus and Hermione lived in during the summer. The house needed protection and it needed something better than blood wards. She stood nervously outside a large house with a large front garden, and walked up the path to knock on the door.

"Oh hello, Narcissa," greeted Mrs Granger. "The kids are out the back. Would you like to come through?" Narcissa nodded, and followed Mrs Granger through the hallway, and out through a glass door in the living room.

Regulus was sitting in a tree, a branch above a young girl with brown bushy hair. Both of them had their noses buried in a book, and were completely oblivious to their surroundings.

"They love reading," Mrs Granger said. "It's something they can do together, and when they're not reading, they are talking about Hogwarts, or things that they have read."

"Yeah, I remember Reggie always used to like to finding out about things. When he was little he used to ask me things all the time, so when he was three, I taught him to read. He didn't ask so many questions after that, but he still wanted me to read him stories, even though he could read them himself," Narcissa said. Her favourite cousin had been very annoying, but she had enjoyed telling him things. However, teaching him to read, had really allowed her some time to herself.

"Three is quite young to read. Of course, our Hermione was always one that was keen to learn. She learnt long before she started school, and once she could read one book, I could hardly keep her away from them. She sucked up knowledge like a sponge!"

"Shall we call them down then?"

"Yes," said Mrs Granger. "Kids, you have a visitor here to see you?" she called.

Regulus looked up from his book, and glanced at Mrs Granger and Narcissa. His face broke into a huge grin, and he jumped down from the tree, running towards them. Narcissa stumbled backwards a couple of steps as she was crushed in the second bone breaking hug of that day.

…..

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed. The poll is still up, though I think I shall be putting Regulus in either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor – he shows traits from both. Please have a look at my other two stories._

_Please review._

_Sadie K_

_PS It's my birthday today_


	22. Part 2 Chapter 3: Diagonally

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter books_

_AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and my other stories._

**Chapter Three: Diagonally**

By coming to Harry's house, Regulus and Hermione, hadn't really solved the problem of Dobby at all. As soon as they had left, Dobby had come back, and had levitated a pudding over Vernon Dursley's guest's head. The cream-laden pudding had some down on the guest's hair, causing a huge commotion, but worst of all had caused a letter from the ministry of magic to arrive by owl post.

The letter had been a warning from the Ministry of Magic, saying that if Harry used magic outside of Hogwarts again, whilst he was still underage, he would be expelled from Hogwarts. Of course, being newly informed of this magical law, the Dursleys were no longer afraid that Harry would transfigure them all into the pigs they truly were, and had seen fit to lock him in his room for the whole summer. Without the use of his wand, Harry Potter had no means of escape. Dobby had got his wish; Harry Potter would not be going to Hogwarts that year.

Or so he thought…

Harry lying in bed, thinking about his upcoming birthday, when he heard a noise outside his bedroom window. It was a flying car, with Ron, Fred and George in it. It was a very close thing, but soon Harry, his trunk, broom and owl cage were all in the car, on their way to the burrow.

…..

It was the early hours of the morning, when Harry arrived at the Weasleys' house. After a telling off from Molly, they sat down to breakfast, where Ginny, Percy and Ron's father joined them. The Weasley's family owl crashing into the window suddenly interrupted them. Errol had brought the Hogwarts letters.

The Weasley's method of travelling was very different to anything that Harry Potter had ever experienced before. Floo powder was quite scary, seeing Ronald disappear in green flames. Still, Harry decided to have a go, though he was quite nervous as he said 'Diagon Alley'.

….

Harry stood up, brushing the dirt from his robes. His glasses were broken on one side, making him look even more of a mess. Now he thought about it, he didn't think he had said 'Diagon Alley' as clearly as he had first thought.

"You do realise that 'Borgin and Burkes' isn't exactly the best place to hang out, don't you?" He looked around, and made out a smallish figure with dark hair, with a similar looking girl behind him.

"What are you doing here then?" Harry asked.

"Hiding from Dad of course. It's the one shop he'd never go in. Bad experience as a child," said the girl, turning around to face him. "He had a rather unusual experience with that cabinet there," she said pointing. "Ended up in Ombersley or something didn't he Leo?"

"Yeah, I think so. Some muggle village in Worcestershire, that no one had ever heard of before. Lucky there was some passing wizard, there, or he'd have been stuck there forever," said the boy. Now Harry had wiped the unbroken side of his glasses clean, he could easily make out the twins standing in front of him.

"Why are you hiding from Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Just because," they said together.

"Do you want to go and find Hermione, to see if she can fix those glasses of yours? I've seen her with Regulus, and Dad's cousin, buying all the stuff for Hogwarts," said Leo, walking out of the shop. His twin followed him, as did Harry.

"Merlin Harry, you should have seen Lucius Malfoy's face. He was absolutely livid. His pureblood wife is openly conversing with a muggle born!" said Callie. They were walking down a rather crowded alleyway, full of very odd, rather scary looking hags, witches and wizards.

"What's so bad about that?" asked Harry.

"Well, you know what Draco's like don't you? Lucius Malfoy is like a taller version of Draco – he absolutely hates muggle borns!" said Leo, giggling. "His face was so funny, when he saw them. Draco doesn't know what to think – his mother's going against everything she's ever told him!"

Just then, the three of them rounded the corner and stepped into Diagon Alley. A girl with brown bushy hair ran up to them, and crushed them in a hug.

Hermione Granger took a step back from Harry and pointed her wand at his glasses, fixing him. He made out a tall woman behind her with long, golden hair, who was holding hands with Hermione's adopted brother Regulus.

"I'd like to introduce you to Narcissa Malfoy, Harry," she said, after greeting him. "She's shopping with us, since she's kind of fallen out with her husband right now."

Harry looked at Narcissa. She had the same colour eyes and complexion as Draco, and the same aristocratic features as Regulus and Sirius had. He held out his hand for her to shake.

…..

The six of them were now standing in the book shop. An annoyingly self-important man, named Gilderoy Lockhart had forced Harry to have his picture taken with him, but he had been given a pile of books, so it was all right. The Weasleys had joined them, and Molly had taken the books to be signed. Harry, Leo, Regulus, Hermione, Ron, Callie and Ginny were just heading out of the shop, leaving the adults to talk to one another, when they were confronted by none other than Draco Malfoy.

"What have we here? Potter, a mudblood, and a bunch of blood-traitors!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" shouted Leo and Callie at the same time.

"Leave him alone," said Ginny.

"Go your self a girl friend Potter?" Draco mocked. He got out his wand, as if he were about to begin a dual, but was stopped by his Father, who told him to play nicely.

Lucius Malfoy picked up one of the second hand books from Ginny's cauldron, and compared it to one of the immaculate books, form Callie's. He put both books back, and commented rudely on how poor the Weasley family were. Ron had to fight the urge to hex him.

The seven of them left the shop, to get away from Lucius and Draco, heading off to look at Quidditch supplies instead.

…..

_AN: Sorry, but I don't like rewriting scenes from the books. Hope this is OK. Please review._


	23. Part 2 Chapter 4: Hogwarts

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

_AN: Thanks for sticking with me and reviewing. Here's a special thank you to everyone who has added me on favourites. Please will you review when you have read this, and tell me your predictions. I'd love to hear what you all think is going to happen next._

_Between the 'Diagonally' chapter and this one, quite a few unpleasant newspaper articles about Regulus, Walburga and Bellatrix have been written for the daily prophet._

**Chapter Four: Hogwarts**

Hermione and Regulus were walking through the station on their way to the platform. Hermione was excited to be starting her second year at Hogwarts but Regulus was still worried about what would happen when Hermione was gone and there were people out to kill him.

"Look Dennis, it's that boy in the paper!" shouted a small curly haired boy. Two boys, a year either side of Regulus's age started to run towards them. One was carrying a large flash camera and started trying to take pictures of Regulus. "Hey, my name's Collin Creevey. Aren't you the boy who's Mum escaped from Azkaban and is trying to murder you?" he shouted enthusiastically.

Regulus nodded silently and then tried to hide from the camera behind Mrs Granger. He was still quite upset after everything that had happened.

"I'm glad my Mum isn't like that. What she did was a horrible thing to do," said Collin, taking another photograph. By now half the people in the station were staring at them, and whispering. There had been quite a few unwanted mentions of him and pictures in the muggle newspapers as well as the countless articles in the 'Daily Prophet'. Regulus hated all the attention and burst into tears.

"Now look what you've done!" shouted Hermione. "Go away." She put her arm defensively around Regulus, who then sobbed into her shoulder. Unfortunately, Collin thought this would make a good photograph and picked up his camera gain.

"I don't think that little boy wants to have his picture taken, Collin. Why don't you run along and get on the train?" suggested a woman that looked so much like Collin that she was undoubtedly his mother. The two boys ran ahead, leaving the woman standing with the Grangers and Regulus.

"I'm sorry about that. Collin gets very over enthusiastic about the wizarding world and he just wants to take pictures of everything," she said.

"I can understand that. Hermione was very excited when she first got her letter," said Mrs Granger. "However, you shouldn't let him go around taking pictures of people who don't want their pictures taken," she added, glancing back at Regulus, who had now stopped crying and was holding Hermione's hand. She handed Regulus a tissue to wipe his eyes on.

Mrs Creevey walked off and sat on a bench to wait for her youngest child to reappear from behind the barrier. The Grangers, however, did not think it was safe for Regulus to go off on his own, and Regulus didn't feel like making his way back through the busy station on his own either. The family said their goodbyes to Hermione, and watched as she walked through the barrier.

They were just about to leave when they heard an enormous crash behind them. Ron and Harry had accidently smashed their trolleys into the barrier. Regulus ran back to help them and picked up Hedwig's cage, which had fallen on the floor. Hedwig looked rather shocked.

"What happened?" asked Regulus.

"The barrier won't let us through," said Ron. "Look!" He pressed his hand to the wall where the entrance to the platform normally was, but nothing happened. It was just like touching an ordinary wall.

"That's weird. How are you going to get to Hogwarts?" asked Regulus. "The train leaves at exactly eleven 'o' clock, so we've got about ten seconds to get you on the train."

"We're never going to make it," said Harry.

"What are we going to do?" Ron panicked.

"I don't know. Let's wait until your parents get back. I think the magic only works one way. Look there's Dennis Creevey," said Regulus, just as Collin Creevey's brother reappeared from behind the barrier.

"Why would the barrier stop letting people in?" asked Ron.

"Maybe it's to stop Harry and only Harry," said Regulus. "Dobby didn't want him to go to Hogwarts at all did he?"

Just then, Molly and Arthur Weasley stepped out from behind the barrier. They looked very surprised to see Harry, Ron and a rather teary-eyed looking Regulus standing there.

"Harry? Ron? Why are you not on the train?" asked Mr Weasley. Meanwhile, Molly Weasley was trying to find out why Regulus looked as if he had been crying.

"The barrier to the platform closed Mum. It won't let us through!" Ron demonstrated by pressing his fingers to the platform entrance. Nothing happened.

"Oh dear, I'd better inform Dumbledore," said Mr Weasley. He began to write a letter to the Headmaster, and attached it to Hedwig, who flew off to Hogwarts. "I told him we'd take the two of you in the car," said Arthur. "We should be able to catch up with the train so you boys won't miss the feast."

…..

Meanwhile, on platform nine and three quarters, Hermione was wondering why her two best friends had not boarded the train with her. She had seen them coming as she had disappeared through the barrier, but they hadn't appeared on the platform. Eventually, she had given up waiting, and had found herself a nice empty compartment. However, the peace and quiet was not to last long as Leo, Callie and Ron's younger sister appeared in the doorway.

"Hi Hermione, you don't mind do you? Everywhere else is full and we can't find Harry anywhere," said Leo.

"No, I don't mind. You can sit here if you want," Hermione said, moving along so that there was more room next to her.

"Good. This is Ginny Weasley. She's Ron's little sister," said Calliope. She sat down next to Hermione, and Ginny sat on the other side of her. Leo sprawled over the three seats on the other side of the compartment.

"Hermione, why was your little brother crying?" asked Ginny. Hermione could tell that she hadn't read any of the recent articles in the Daily Prophet about Regulus: the ones that documented half of the truth about Regulus and his Mother, and a stack of lies and made up stuff that had made Regulus even more upset than he had been before. Whoever Rita Skeeter was, Hermione really wanted to murder her.

"Oh, a boy called Collin started taking pictures and asking him lots of questions. Regulus just got a bit upset and flustered that's all," said Hermione. There was no need to tell her that Regulus wasn't actually her real brother – they were close enough so that that was almost true anyway.

The three girls discussed the issue of 'brothers' while Leo interjected every once in a while to tell his sister to stop telling fibs about him. He was pretty sure he didn't 'snore' or 'eat all the cornflakes out of the packet' as his sister was saying. No, he definitely did not have any of the bad habits his sister was describing.

…..

Soon they arrived at Hogsmeade station, where the first years were separated from Hermione. Leo watched as she climbed into a horseless carriage with Neville Longbottom and two others called Seamus and Dean from Harry's dormitory, and couldn't help wondering where on earth Harry was. He waved and then wandered over to where Hagrid was instructing them all to climb into boats. He did so with his sister, Ginny Weasley and a blonde-haired girl called Luna.

The journey to Hogwarts was fairly uneventful, but the best part was when they saw their first glimpse of the castle. Leo had never seen the whole castle from far off – he had been hiding in a suitcase last time he had made the journey. The castle was magnificent. Towers, turrets and bridges, all lit up against the night sky. Leo briefly wondered what it would look like in daylight before looking sideways at the expression on his sister's face. How he wished he had 'borrowed' Collin Creevey's camera.

The first years filed inside the Hogwarts entrance hall, where they were given a rather length description of the Hogwarts sorting by Professor McGonagall. Leo was fairly surprised that all he had to do was to try on a hat. His father had refused to tell him anything, saying that it would be a wonderful surprise when he arrived. The only information he had previously managed to get hold of had been form Fred and George Weasley, who had made the sorting celebrations a sound a lot more dangerous.

Several children screamed at the arrival of the Hogwarts ghosts. Leo just thought they were funny and asked Sir Nicolas to show them why he was nick-names 'Nearly- Headless Nick'. His fellow first-years screamed even more. They were then led into the Great Hall.

'Andrews something-or-other' was the first to be sorted. He went into Ravenclaw. Next was Leo's sister. Leo watched in anticipation as the hat took ages to sort her.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted. Leo watched in horror as his sister was sorted into the house his father had always hated so much. He gave her a small wave and she waved timidly back. Leo didn't mind that she was in that house, but he hoped his Father wouldn't make life too difficult for her.

"Black, Leo," said Professor McGonagall. Leo hopped up onto the stool where the Professor began lowering the hat onto his head. The hat didn't even touch his head before it shouted:

"GRYFFINDOR!" There was a huge cheer from Gryffindor table and Leo ran to sit next to Fred and opposite Hermione. He glanced across at his sister. Why couldn't she be in Gryffindor too? She certainly didn't look as if she wanted to sit by Draco Malfoy, who was now sitting talking to her very quietly about something he didn't want anyone else to know.

He sat back and watched as Collin Creevey, and Cormac McLaggen were both sorted into Gryffindor. Luna Lovegood was sorted into Ravenclaw and then Ginny Weasley and Romilda Vane were both sorted into Gryffindor with him. Ginny Weasley sat next to him and Fred, but the others sat further down the table. There was still no sign of Harry and Ronald.

Just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened and in came in a very dishevelled looking Arthur Weasley with Ron and Harry following behind. Harry and Ron sat down at Gryffindor table, while Professor Dumbledore led Mr Weasley out of the Great Hall to talk more privately.

"Where were you?" asked Hermione. "I saw you at the station, but I couldn't find you anywhere!"

"The barrier wouldn't let us through," explained Ron. "Then Dad crashed his flying car into the whomping willow. It drove off into the forest!"

"We think it was Dobby again, trying to stop us getting through," said Harry.

"But why would he do something like that?" asked Leo.

"I don't know," said Harry, "Hermione?"

"Dobby says that something bad is going to happen at Hogwarts this year. Narcissa and Regulus have both tried asking him what, but he seems have been ordered not to tell anyone, not even Narcissa."

"That's odd. Isn't Dobby supposed to take orders from Narcissa too?" asked Harry.

"Yes but a house elf has to obey all orders from its Master, which in this case is Lucius Malfoy," said Hermione.

The Gryffindors sat discussing what the 'bad thing' that was scheduled to happen could be, while they ate the feat. Leo kept stealing glances at his sister. Perhaps she could find something out from Draco Malfoy.

…..

_AN: I am so sorry this took so long. I have been doing a lot of work recently on my other story. You will find out the whereabouts of the diary very soon, but first there will be an unexpected encounter with someone not very nice, and another reunion._

_I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please review._


	24. Part 2 Chapter 5: Rescued

_Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Harry Potter' series, or the book that Regulus's class have been reading. _

_AN: I am doing alternate 'Hogwarts' and 'Not Hogwarts' chapters, so this is taking place on Regulus's third day back at school._

**Chapter Five: Rescued**

Regulus sneezed but he didn't let his cold spoil the fun of walking back from school. For the past three days it had been raining on and off and so the ground was littered with puddles. Regulus loved puddles, as did his best friend Alex, who was walking with him, so both of their parents had insisted that they wore wellies after having got their feet soaked the previous day. Regulus had blue wellies while his friend had green ones with frogs on.

"What do you want to do? I'm not really allowed to stay out for long anymore," said Regulus. Ever since the Azkaban breakout, Mrs Granger had tightened her reign on Regulus and he had to be home from school and in the house by half four every day in case it got dark. He also wasn't allowed to do anything completely on his own.

"I know, let's fill our wellies with frogspawn and tadpoles like the boy in the story!" suggested his friend.

"That's a stupid idea," said Regulus. Recently, their school teacher had been reading them a story about a boy with a Kestrel. In the story, there was a character who told the whole class a story of how he and a friend had filled their wellies with 'taddies'. Regulus wasn't sure whether this meant tadpoles or frogspawn.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," said Alex. He dragged Regulus off the pavement and into the alleyway that led to the park.

"No it won't!" argued Regulus. His friend started making 'puppy eye' faces at him. "All right, but I am 'not' taking my wellies off! You can do that part by yourself!"

Regulus's friend ran along through the alleyway tugging Regulus behind him. He deliberately walked on the muddy side of the path, not seeming to care that the mud was being splattered up the back of their trousers. Regulus noticed and thought that his adoptive mother was not going to be happy at all when he brought his friend round for tea. At least this time, his friend would be able to enter the house without any trouble. Yesterday, because of the Fidelius charm that Sirius had done, Alex had not been able to see the house, so Regulus had had to ring his brother so he could come and tell Alex how to get in. It had been very embarrassing for both of them and he still owed his best friend an explanation for it.

"You know, we should be going back now. My Mum's probably getting worried," said Regulus, trying to deter his friend from doing something that he might regret. He also didn't really want to be going down a dark alleyway.

Crack.

"Oh God, what was that?" asked Alex.

"Just a branch, it's nothing to worry about," said Regulus. It had sounded like someone apparating, but that would mean there was a wizard nearby. And there were no other wizards or witches in the area.

"Reggie, can you please walk a bit faster? I think we're being followed."

Regulus looked behind him but didn't see anyone. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Come on!" Alex broke into a run and Regulus followed suit. He didn't know if someone was following them or not but usually when his friend suspected something he was right.

What he didn't expect was for a jet of light to come out of nowhere and hit his best friend in the back. Alex was sent flying several meters where he landed in a heap in a muddy puddle. Regulus ran over to him.

"Al, are you okay?" he asked. Alex was still awake and still breathing but there was a nasty gash on his head where he had slammed into a sharp rock on the alleyway floor. Regulus helped his friend sit up and propped him against the fence at the side of the alleyway before turning to look at his attacker.

He froze.

The attacker was a lot older than when Regulus had last seen her and had lost most of the beauty that she had ever possessed. She had sunken, hollow, almost entirely black pits for eyes, and her body shape was similar to that of a skeleton. There was no fat or muscle on her whatsoever. What had once been neatly styled, black shiny hair now had more grey in it than black and was more matted than a swan's nest. Yet Regulus still recognised her.

"Mother?" he asked.

"What? How? I know you're adopted but she looks old enough to be by gran!" said Alex. His words were slightly slurred and it was obvious that he was a little delirious.

"Still talking to muggles then are we Regulus?" their attacker sneered. "I see I didn't tell you clearly enough the first time!"

"You're not my Mother anymore. What I want to do is none of your business now so leave me and my friend alone," said Regulus slowly and calmly. Perhaps if he talked to her that way, as if she was nothing but a wild animal that could be tamed, she wouldn't attack.

"Regulus you are still under my control and I don't want you talking to this filth so move out of the way was that I can dispose of him."

"No!" shouted Regulus. He moved so that he was completely blocking his Mother's path to his friend. If any spells were now aimed at Alex, they would hit Regulus first.

"Move out of the way now!"

"No!"

"Crucio!" Regulus felt as if a thousand knives had been jabbed into him all at once. He remembered this happening to him before but he hadn't remembered how painful it had been. He screamed for her to stop. Alex was also screaming at the sight of his best friend lying on the ground shaking.

Regulus's 'punishment' for talking to another muggle went on for quite a while. If either of the two boys had looked at their watches they would have realised it was a long time past Regulus's curfew. The pain only stopped when a jet of red light was fired at Regulus's mother.

Regulus was so disorientated that he had no idea who the person was. It was female and they had dark hair, but that was all he could take in. The next thing he knew, the person had grabbed him, and he and Alex were being taken somewhere by side along apparition.

Regulus tried to take in his new surroundings. The three of them were stood in the garden of a pretty country cottage. He was still shaking from being cursed and his body hurt all over; he just wanted to sit down or lie down and try to get over the waves of dizziness that kept washing over him. Alex wasn't much better. Already having being hit hard on the head, he was now puking from the after effects of the apparating. Both boys fell to the floor as soon as their saviour let go of them, unable to support their own weight. "You'll be safe here, Reggie. I'm really sorry cousin, but I can't stay."

Now that it was daylight, Regulus noticed that the woman who had saved them had black hair like his own. She was extremely skinny, but not so much as his mother had been. He didn't see her face however, as she was walking away from them towards the door. She rang the doorbell and then apparated with a crack.

Regulus was too tired and too shaky to get up, and Alex still didn't have a clue what was going on.

The door was answered by a young-looking woman with bright pink hair. She looked a lot like Regulus's cousin Andromeda, but Regulus knew that the last thing his cousin would ever do would be to die her hair such a lurid colour. Andromeda had always liked her hair exactly the way it was. Besides , this person was completely the wrong age, and standing behind were was another woman that looked the right age and also looked like Andromeda. Regulus assumed that the pink-haired woman was his cousin's daughter.

So if Andromeda was in the house then his rescuer must have been Bellatrix. The only other person that had ever called him 'cousin' was Cissy, and Cissy did not look like that at all.

Both the women ran towards Regulus to help him. The one with the pink hair picked him up and carried him into the house where he was laid on a rather squashy sofa. Andromeda brought Alex in too, and started to look at his head wound. Regulus found himself drifting off to sleep as his friend was seen to.

…..

_AN: So who is the rescuer and who is the girl with the pink hair? Are Regulus's assumptions correct? The book mentioned is a real book and quite a famous one. If you can give me the title of the 'book' (not the title of the film) in your review as well as your comments, you will get a special mention in the next chapter note._

_Please tell me your opinions and predictions. The next chapter will be about Tom Riddle's diary, and you will discover who has it. You may have already guessed who has it, but who it will possess is a totally different matter. Oh, and do you think I should make Alex a muggleborn wizard?_

_On a last note, my computer corrected 'wellies' to 'willies', which caused quite a few ridiculous sentences._

_PS. The poll is still open. Please vote because I have a three way tie almost for Slytherin 11, Gryffindor 12 and Ravenclaw 12. Hufflepuff is way behind, so Regulus is almost certainly not in that house._

_Please review._


	25. Part 2 Chapter 6: The Diary

_Disclaimer: I don't own the 'Harry Potter' books._

_AN: Thanks to all my reviewers. Monnbeam guessed it right._

**Chapter Six: The Diary**

"Draco, why are you being so, um, nice? I thought you hated me!" said Callie, as she sat down next to her second cousin in the Slytherin commonroom. Draco had been talking to her during the feast and he seemed to think that his father was up to something that he didn't know much about. It was very unusual behaviour for him – usually Draco only ever saw the twins at gatherings which Sirius and Narcissa were both forced to attend. It usually ended in some kind of duel or fight with spells flying everywhere. It was an understatement to say the three of them didn't get on.

Except for today, when Draco seemed to behaving almost nicely towards her.

"Well I don't exactly have anyone else to talk to right now do I?" he retorted.

"What about your usual friends?" Callie asked. Draco was known for having Crabbe and Goyle by his side at all times. He usually had a few clingy hangers on like Pansy, too.

"What? Crabbe and Goyle? They're not exactly good for conversation are they?" said Draco. Callie shrugged. She had never had the misfortune of having to sit and listen to them. From what she understood they weren't the brightest of people. "Besides, I only hang around with them because Father says they're good company." He said the word father as if he had some newfound hatred of the word – or the man. Callie wasn't sure which.

"Where are they now?" she asked.

"How should I know? They haven't spoken to me since my Mother walked out on my Father. They think she's a disgrace to our family now," said Draco. Callie felt a little sorry for him, but only a little. She hadn't known what had been going on between his parents.

"Is that what you think?" she asked. "That your mother's a…"

"No, of course I don't! She must have a reason for it." Draco fell silent after he'd said that. Callie didn't really know what to say. "I don't really know what to think anymore," said Draco sadly, after a few minutes silent. "I really hate the way things are at the moment. I want to side with Mother, but it just seems like the opposite of how I was brought up."

"I know what you mean," said Callie. She didn't really. She didn't have a clue what Draco was going through at home but it felt like the right thing to say.

"I just wish things could go back to how they were before," said Draco. "At least then I'd know what to do. I could just strut around with the rest of the Slytherins and they wouldn't all be calling my Mother a blood traitor."

"It's not that bad. You'll get used to it. Everyone calls my Dad one," said Callie. Draco scowled at her. She obviously wasn't making him feel any better so she went up to her dormitory.

…..

There were four other girls there. Two were asleep but the others were sitting atop their four-poster beds. The taller one sneered as she walked in but Callie didn't care. She was far prettier and probably had more brain cells than the other four girls put together. She didn't care whether they thought her Dad was a blood traitor or not.

She sat down on the bed and started to unpack her bag. She dumped her clothes Leo-style, which meant no order whatsoever, into the drawers beside her bed and then started getting out the books. Just as she was putting one of the Gilderoy Lockhart textbooks on the shelf above her bed, something fell out.

"What's this?" asked one of the girls, snatching it up off the floor. Callie was glad she didn't recognise it, because those girls didn't look the types to be careful with other people's things. "Tom Marvolo Riddle. Who the heck is he?" Callie shrugged.

"It's blank," said the other, opening the yellowing pages. "What is the point of a blank book?" She tossed it back at Callie.

"It's a diary, obviously," said Callie. She opened it and wrote a message with her quill pen.

_Dear Diary, I'm Callie, _she wrote. To her surprise, the writing disappeared into the page.

_Hello Callie. My name's Tom. Tom Riddle._ Callie checked that the other girls were no longer interested before writing back.

_Hello Tom. Is this your diary?_

_Yes._ The writing disappeared again but then started to reappear again. _Tell me about yourself._

_I'm in my first year at Hogwarts. My Dad is Sirius Black and my Mum's called Sarah. I have a brother called Leo in Gryffindor, but I was sorted into Slytherin. I don't really mind that we're in different houses, and I don't think Leo does either. He was smiling at me all through the feast._ Callie wrote.

_Sirius Black? Are you related to Orion, Cygnus and Walburga then. I went to Hogwarts with them._

_Yes. Dad's parents are Walburga and Orion Black. Orion and Cygnus both died and Walburga was put in prison for torture. She's escaped now, but our family hates her._

_I was never friends with them at Hogwarts._

_Oh._

She shut the diary. It was getting quite late anyway – she now needed to cast 'lumos' to see what she was doing! Her every instinct told her to stay away from the diary but some part of her – perhaps the pranking part – told her to keep it. If anything, Tom could tell her a lot about her Grandparents. He might even know a weakness that could help her put her grandmother bacl in Azkaban where she belonged.

Callie placed it on the shelf next to 'A History of Magic' and settled down to sleep.

…..

_AN: Hope you like that. Sorry it took so long. I've had an exciting week – scout camp followed by results day! I got 100% in both Biology and Chemistry for my last A level exam. It's meant to be the hardest exam there is in second year and I don't know how I managed it. Oh well._

_The poll is still up. It's extremely close so please vote. I am leaning towards Ravenclaw or Gryffindor still. I prefer Ravenclaw because I want Regulus to play quidditch against Harry._

_Please review._


	26. Part 2: Chapter 7: Andromeda

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this so far, and sorry for the long wait. In case you have forgotten, Regulus and his friend Alex were attacked by Regulus's mother, and were rescued by an unlikely hero. They are now resting at Andromeda's house._

**Chapter Seven: Andromeda**

Regulus didn't think he'd ever felt so awful in his life. When he woke up he still felt shaky and his body hurt all over. He hadn't expected it not to: after having been under the Cruciatus Curse for half an hour he was lucky to still have his sanity intact. His head seemed to hurt quite a bit too. He lifted his hand to touch it and noticed something soft like a bandage; he must have hit his head when he collapsed and not noticed at the time.

He glanced across at Alex, who was lying awake with his eyes half closed as if he was trying to get to sleep. He had a bandage on his head too, but this one had blood soaked through it. Regulus thought he looked tired – very tired and probably a bit sick too, looking at the bucket next to him – so he kept quiet and didn't disturb him.

Regulus had just buried his head under the blanket when the door opened and the girl with the pink hair walked in. "Wotcher Regulus," she said brightly, causing both Regulus and Alex to become fully awake. "Oh, you are awake then. I'll just go and get you two breakfast." She went off and came back with a tray with two bowls on it. Then she tripped over edge of the carpet and fell flat on he face.

"Are you alright?" asked Regulus.

"I'm fine. That happens all the time and look, no spilt breakfast!" Miraculously the breakfast had managed to stay in the bowls. She gave one of them to Alex and then helped Regulus to sit up because he was too floppy and shaky to do so by himself.

"I'm Tonks, Andromeda's daughter," she said as she started spoon-feeding cereal to Regulus. Regulus insisted that he could do it on his own but it wasn't until the breakfast was knocked over and spilt half of it all over him that the girl decided it would be a better idea if he did do it himself. It then turned out that Regulus wasn't well enough to hold the bowl properly on his own, and the rest of the breakfast ended up all over the bed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," said Regulus, feeling rather embarrassed about being so utterly helpless.

"Don't worry: I'll clean it up," said Tonks. Then she waved her wand and said, "Scourgify."

"Thanks," said Regulus. Tonks skipped off and came back with another bowl. This time she held it steady with one hand, whilst feeding Regulus with the other.

"Tonks is a funny name," said Regulus between mouthfuls. "Is it a nickname?"

"Sort of. It's my last name. My parents stupidly named me '_Nymphadora'_, which I hate."

"I think it's an okay name," said Alex. "I wouldn't like to be called it but then I'm a boy."

Regulus didn't comment. He didn't particularly like the name 'Nymphadora' but he didn't like his own name much either. He wondered whether 'Tonks' referred to Ted Tonks, who had been Andromeda's secret boyfriend when he was younger. He certainly couldn't recall anyone else by the name of 'Tonks' to whom his cousin might have married. He ate about half of the cereal and then back flopped down with his head on Tonks's lap.

Meanwhile, Alex had eaten his owl bowl of cereal on his own and gained a little colour back into his cheeks. "What exactly happened? I'm sure that woman cast a spell at me. And why is Reggie so ill?" he asked.

The pink-haired girl was at first unsure of how to answer, but Regulus whispered that he had already told his friend a little bit about magic after he's first discovered that he and Hermione could do it. In fact, Regulus actually suspected that his friend might be able to do magic too, but he didn't tell this to Tonks.

"I don't know for sure who attacked you," she began, "but I know that they were a witch or wizard because of what they did to Regulus." She then turned to me. "My mother examined you and it looks like you were hit with the Cruciatus curse. That's a torture curse."

"I know," said Regulus. Then for both of their benefit, he added: "It's a long story, but the witch who attacked us was my Mother."

…..

A few hours later, Regulus's cousin Andromeda returned home from wherever she'd been – mostly likely some form of work. Alex had already recovered and Nymphadora had taken him home, but Regulus wasn't feeling much better than earlier. However he was excited to meet his cousin: in the four years since he was flung forward in time, the only one of his cousins he had actually had a lengthy conversation with had been Narcissa. Apart from the visit to Azkaban, and the short encounter the previous day, he hadn't seen much of Bellatrix – and he hadn't seen Andromeda at all!

He was slightly worried about what his cousin might think of him. It had been what? Twenty-five years since she'd last seen him. And he'd only really been baby cousin Reggie then. Now, lying in a bed in Andromeda's house, and still feeling the after-effects of the torture curse, he didn't think he was giving a good impression of himself. He decided to at least look as if he wasn't completely helpless, so, with a lot more effort than he usually did, he pushed himself into a sitting position and grabbed a book from the nearest bookshelf. It happened to be about plants and their uses in both magical and muggle medicine. He wasn't particularly interested in plants, but they were better than nothing.

Just then, his older cousin Andromeda entered the room. Regulus was surprised at how much older she looked - though not as haunted-looking as her sister Bellatrix, his cousin still looked like she'd been through a lot of stress during the wizarding war that everyone kept talking about. However, she still looked as warm and kind as she had always been.

"So I guess you married Ted then," he said in attempt to break the tension between them.

"Indeed I did," she said laughing slightly. She came and sat on the edge of the bed. "My parents and your father weren't happy in the slightest." Regulus laughed too. If he remembered correctly, Ted had been muggle born, and Blacks were not supposed to marry muggleborns (or 'mudbloods' as his Mother had called them). They would have really hated it when she got married. "So what have you been up to recently?" his cousin asked.

Regulus told her about waking up in London, and how the Mr Granger had found him and taken him in. He told her about Hermione and magic and Hogwarts, and what a shock it had been when he'd met Leo, Callie and Sirius. He also told his cousin about sneaking into Hogwarts in Hermione's suitcase, which she found funny, and the prank on Draco Malfoy. He didn't mention the visit to Azkaban with Neville because it hadn't really been a very sensible idea and had actually caused more trouble than it was worth, and instead finished off with his theory about Dobby and Lucius Malfoy.

After he had finished, Andromeda told him all about what had happened in her life after she had left Hogwarts, including all about her daughter. By the time she had finished, it was early evening. She called Mr and Mrs Granger on the phone her husband used to call his family, and told them a brief account of what had happened to Regulus. They agreed that Regulus could spend the night at his cousin's house and return home in the morning.

…..

_AN: Thanks for reading. I'm sorry for taking so long, but I have been concentrating on my degree and on my other story. I will try to update this sooner rather than later. In the meantime, please could you tell me what you think:_

_What do you think of Regulus, Narcissa and Andromeda's relationship?_

_Or of Bellatrix wanting to help Regulus._

_What do you think will happen with Riddle's diary?_

_Do you think having Regulus in on what's happening at Hogwarts will change the plot?_

_Is there anything you want to ask me about this story, or anything you particularly like of dislike?_

_I have a poll on my profile page about my OCs if you want to have a look at it. I also have a competition up on HPFC (Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges – it's a forum and you can find it easily on search), called 'Death Eater Child Competition'. Please have a look at it._

_Most of all, I wish everyone good look this year (should have said that before), and please review this story._


	27. Part 2: Chapter 8: First Day

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_AN: Because of alternating the chapters between Hogwarts and Regulus, they are a little out of sync with one another. This chapter takes place before Regulus is attacked. In fact it takes place before Regulus is even back at school, as you'll read in the letter._

**Chapter Eight: First Day**

It was the first proper day of the Hogwarts school year, and Hermione woke up to the sound of Lavender and Parvati gossiping and giggling about their holidays. Parvati had been on a beach holiday in the Mediterranean and was animatedly telling her best friend about the relative hotness of Italian boys compared to the boys in the Gryffindor dormitory. She had rated the Gryffindor boys from best to worst – Harry and Dean rating at the top, with Neville being the bottom of the list. In contrast, Lavender had put Ron and Seamus first, and rated Harry the worst. The other two girls in the dormitory hadn't commented. Hermione, whose only conversation about romance had ended in her younger brother saying that kissing was yucky, hurriedly got dressed and went downstairs into the common room.

Harry and Ron were already dressed and waiting for her. It surprised her because usually the two of them would stay in bed so long that they nearly missed breakfast. The three of them were just about to make their way downstairs when they were interrupted.

"Hey Harry, Ron! Wait for us, why don't you!" It was Leo, closely followed by Ginny. "You don't mind if we sit by you, do you?"

Harry shrugged.

"Good, cos we were going to anyway. I am _not_ sitting by Collin. He never shuts up, and all he does is ask questions about you and Regulus. He's so annoying!"

"Have you ever considered the fact that you never shut up either? Honestly, I think you and Collin have something in common there," said Ginny. Leo looked rather affronted at this and quickly stopped talking. The other four laughed at him. Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way over to the Gryffindor table and sat down in their usual place. The other two followed suit, sitting between Harry and the Weasley twins (who usually sat a few places along from the trio).

Leo loaded his plate with rather a lot more food than normal just because his Mother wasn't there to tell him not to. Ginny thought that four slices of toast, three eggs, eight sausages and five rashers of bacon, all covered with red sauce was rather a lot, but didn't say anything. Instead, copying Hermione, she selected two pieces of toast and covered them with butter and jam.

"Bloody hell! Are you really going to eat all that?" asked Ron, just as the Great Hall was suddenly filled with hundreds of owls. One of them landed in front of Harry, one for Hermione, and after delivering a letter to his sister, one also came for Leo. The owl carrying the letter for Ron and Ginny crashed into a rather large bowl of cereal in the middle of the table.

"Errol!" cried Ginny, checking over the family owl to make sure it was alright.

Hermione looked over her own owl. It wasn't one that she recognised. She took both the letters from its leg, keeping the one addressed to her, and passing the one addressed to 'Leo and Callie Black' to Leo.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I borrowed this owl from Narcissa. If you give her a letter she'll come back to me but if not she'll go back to Narcissa. I wanted to ask how you were and how lessons were going. If Harry and Ron aren't with you yet it is because the barrier wouldn't let them through – I think it was something to do with Dobby, but Narcissa doesn't know anything about it. I think Lucius is up to something. I hope Harry and Ron are with you by now. They set off in that flying blue car with Ron's Dad, but it looked a bit faulty. I hope they got there alright._

_I'm sorry for acting like such a baby at the station. It's just that I hate it when people stare at me and talk about me behind my back. Sometimes I even hear normal people like our neighbours talking about me, because of what they've seen on the television. It's even worse when they shout it out in public like that boy with the camera. There was another news story about my other Mother again and they said that she's been sited nearby. I'm really worried. They keep saying that she tried to kill me and that she wants to finish the job. Mum and Dad say that the protections on the house are strong and that she won't attack in broad daylight anyway, but I'm still a bit scared._

_Nothing much else has happened because me, Mum and Dad have haven't been back long since you to the station. School starts up again in a few days' time. I can't believe I'm going into year six now! I'm the youngest person in the oldest class in the school, but the twins will be the oldest out of everyone. I'm really excited to start because this year we get to do a project and an end of term production. I'm a bit worried about walking to school on my own, but Mum says not to worry._

_I have to go now because Mum wants me to tidy my room. I don't think it's messy but she says that there shouldn't be so many bits of paper on the desk that you can't see it, and that books belong on the shelf and not on the bedside table. Apparently pens don't live on the windowsill either. Write back to me soon and tell me all about lessons and the sorting. I've written another letter asking Leo and Callie about sorting. I'm guessing they're both in Gryffindor like Sirius was. Is Ginny in Gryffindor with you too?_

_Lots and lots of love,_

_Regulus _

_Xxx_

Hermione finished reading, folded the letter and put it back in her bag; she'd write a reply later, since there wasn't much to report back on. She peered across at Leo's letter. It was a lot shorter than hers and didn't have any kisses at the end:

_To Leo and Callie,_

_I hope you both got into the houses you wanted. I'm not biased towards any of them – they all have unique qualities that make them how they are. Tell me how lessons go. If they are the same as Hermione's were then I'll probably have them the same too. _

_I hope Harry and Ron got to Hogwarts okay. _

_From Regulus_

Hermione was secretly glad that Regulus still thought of her as a sister, and that he felt more comfortable confiding in her than with his own relatives. Of course, she did want him to talk to them, but it she felt special that he was still her little brother.

…..

On the other side of the hall, Leo's sister Callie had been forced to sit next to people she didn't like. It wasn't like she hadn't given them a chance: she had decided to be polite to them, talk to them, and all the usual things that friends did. She'd even helped Astoria to fix her hair that morning! But no, these four thought she was beneath them. It didn't matter that she was a Black. To them, she was nothing but a half-blood, and the son of the infamous Gryffindor blood-traitor Sirius Black.

Astoria Greengrass was by far the nicest of them. She'd been quite nice to talk to early in the morning, but as soon as the others had woken up she had remained quiet and not said anything to counter the teasing they did. Vanessa greatly resembled her Cousin Draco's childhood acquaintance, Vincent Crabbe, and after little effort she found out that the two of them were brother and sister. The girl was, if anything, even fatter and uglier than her brother, and had a spiteful and ugly character to go with her appearance. Estella Nott and Monica Lestrange (the daughter of Rabastan Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy's cousin) weren't much better than Vanessa was. At least they had the decency to address her as 'stinking half-blood' rather than 'filthy half-breed' like Vanessa had.

If there had been another option, she wouldn't have sat by them. However, she was still determined to befriend at least one of them to make her life a little easier, and there were no seats available anywhere else. She glanced longingly over at her brother's table, where Leo sat and joked around with a red-haired girl, Ginny Weasley. She was glad when, five minutes into breakfast, the owls came swooping in through the windows. One of them was carrying a letter for her.

She tore off the letter, leaving half of the envelope still attached to the owl's foot. The owl flew off to her brother, who would most likely untie the letter properly anyway. The letter was from her father.

_Dear Callie,_

_I know you've probably been worrying about what I'll think of your sorting. I am a little sad that the two of you have been separated, but hopefully you will both be able to make other friends. I don't mind about you being in Slytherin. I may have said a lot of things in the past about all Slytherins being evil but that isn't true. Your Aunty Andromeda was in Slytherin and she certainly isn't evil. She remained friends with me throughout her sixth and seventh year when I was sorted into Gryffindor. My Uncle Alphard was also a Slytherin, and he was a great man._

_I hope you aren't having any trouble making friends. Some Slytherins can be quite nasty around half-bloods. My advice is not to insult anyone back because it will escalate. If you can't get along with anyone you will still have lessons with other houses. Xenophilius Lovegood has a daughter in Ravenclaw in your year, and the Weasleys also have a daughter your age. When I was at Hogwarts we used to use our dormitory for plotting. I suggest you and Leo use the room of requirement on the second floor. Ask one of the House Elves to show you._

_Love Dad._

After finishing, she heaved a sigh of relief. She'd been so worried that her father would be angry with her. She quickly finished off her breakfast and headed off to her lesson. Astoria followed her, but the other three continued eating like pigs.

The first lesson was charms with Gryffindors. She and Astoria sat together because they didn't know anyone else – Astoria's desk was next to the wall, and Callie's was by the isle that went down the side of the classroom. As they were getting out their books, Leo and Ginny entered and sat behind them. Leo looked as if he was about to be sick.

"Callie, I need to talk to you after the lesson," whispered Leo, just as Professor Flitwick entered the room.

…..

"So what do you need to talk to me about?" asked Callie. After ditching Astoria it was just her, Leo and Ginny.

"Well you know Harry and Ron were late yesterday," said Leo. Callie nodded. "It was because the barrier to the platform closed on them."

"What? But that's impossible!"

"I know. We think it was Dobby. House elf magic is different to wizard magic. I think they can even apparated in and out of Hogwarts!" said Ginny.

"Anyway, we think Lucius Malfoy has something to do with it, so we were wondering if you could spy on Draco," said Leo.

"I think I might be able to get him to tell me. He's opened up about loads of stuff to with his family."

"Okay. And what's it like in Slytherin anyway?" asked Leo.

"Um, it's alright I guess. It's not as homely as the Gryffindor one though, and the people aren't so nice."

"Oh well, you've still got me if you want to talk to someone," said Leo.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I found this weird diary that talks back. I think it belonged to someone from Hogwarts fifty years ago. They know all about what Dad's Mother was like at Hogwarts, and they could tell us some really useful-"

"Get rid of it," said Leo.

"What? Why?" asked Callie.

"It's a talking book. It's not natural and to make a book like that probably uses dark magic," said Leo.

"And my Mum told me never to trust anything if you can't see where it keeps its brains," added Ginny.

"Okay, I'll get rid of it then," sighed Callie.

…..

_AN: So here's the chapter. Wyld Kitty, I hope this clears up the fact that Regulus still sees the Grangers as family._

_What do you think of:_

_-Regulus's letter to Hermione_

_-Callie's room mates_

_-Possible friendship with Draco, Daphne or Astoria_

_-The twins in general_

_-Hermione's reactions to Parvati, Regulus and the twins_

_Do you think I could add a subsidiary sob story about Monica? She never knew her Dad because he went to Azkaban when she was a baby, and her Mum hates her. Or add details about the other roommates._

_How should Callie go about getting rid of the diary?_

_Is there anything in particular you like or dislike about the story so far? _

_Thanks to all those who read and reviewed this story. I appreciate all of your comments and I reply to all of those that I can reply to. By the way I have a new story called 'Am I A Monster?'._

_Please review._


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